IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/cog/socinc/v14y2026a12508.html

Digital Transition and New Forms of Spatial Inequality

Author

Listed:
  • Tiit Tammaru

    (Department of Geography, University of Tartu, Estonia)

  • Kadi Kalm

    (Department of Geography, University of Tartu, Estonia)

  • Rūta Ubarevičienė

    (Institute of Sociology, Lithuanian Centre for Social Sciences, Lithuania)

  • Veronika Mooses

    (Department of Geography, University of Tartu, Estonia)

  • Anto Aasa

    (Department of Geography, University of Tartu, Estonia)

  • Olle Järv

    (Department of Geography, University of Tartu, Estonia / Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Abstract

This thematic issue examines how digital transition reshapes spatial inequalities by reconfiguring relationships between people, places, and opportunities. We frame the contributions around three interrelated mechanisms—place attractiveness, access to opportunities, and the coordination of activities— that operate through housing and labour markets. Digital transition reshapes all three mechanisms, generating spatially uneven outcomes across the settlement system. Rather than producing a fundamental spatial shift or simply reproducing existing inequalities, it repositions people and places into more networked and multilocal arrangements. Suburban areas emerge as key beneficiaries, large cities retain their dominance in employment while facing intensifying housing pressures, and rural areas are increasingly reoriented towards residence and consumption, with amenity‐rich localities gaining while more peripheral areas face compounding disadvantage. We identify three avenues for future research: the implications of remote work for residential mobility and immobility; unequal household capacities to coordinate activities across digital and physical space; and the need for a multi‐scalar perspective to better understand the shift towards networked and multilocal spatial arrangements as everyday activities increasingly span physical and digital space.

Suggested Citation

  • Tiit Tammaru & Kadi Kalm & Rūta Ubarevičienė & Veronika Mooses & Anto Aasa & Olle Järv, 2026. "Digital Transition and New Forms of Spatial Inequality," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 14.
  • Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v14:y:2026:a:12508
    DOI: 10.17645/si.12508
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/12508
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.17645/si.12508?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Tim Schwanen & Martin Dijst & Mei‐Po Kwan, 2008. "Icts And The Decoupling Of Everyday Activities, Space And Time: Introduction," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 99(5), pages 519-527, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Aguiléra, Anne & Guillot, Caroline & Rallet, Alain, 2012. "Mobile ICTs and physical mobility: Review and research agenda," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 46(4), pages 664-672.
    2. Jonathan Stiles & Michael J. Smart, 2021. "Working at home and elsewhere: daily work location, telework, and travel among United States knowledge workers," Transportation, Springer, vol. 48(5), pages 2461-2491, October.
    3. Becky P. Y. Loo & Bo Wang, 2018. "Factors associated with home-based e-working and e-shopping in Nanjing, China," Transportation, Springer, vol. 45(2), pages 365-384, March.
    4. Dal Fiore, Filippo & Mokhtarian, Patricia L. & Salomon, Ilan & Singer, Matan E., 2014. "“Nomads at last”? A set of perspectives on how mobile technology may affect travel," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 97-106.
    5. Arranz-López, Aldo & Acker, Veronique Van & Dijst, Martin, 2025. "Exploring the influence of Internet-related perceptions and e-shopping on spatiotemporal accessibility perceptions: A study of social housing beneficiaries in Luxembourg," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).
    6. Cao, Xinyu (Jason), 2012. "The relationships between e-shopping and store shopping in the shopping process of search goods," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 46(7), pages 993-1002.
    7. Chunjiang Li, 2025. "From Displacement to Integration: An Examination of the Associations between Mobile Information and Communications Technology Use and Daily Time Use," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 178(3), pages 1347-1365, July.
    8. Chunjiang Li & Eva Thulin & Yanwei Chai, 2023. "Changes in Everyday Internet Use and Home Activity During and After Pandemic‐Related Lockdowns: A Case Study in Shuangjing Subdistrict, Beijing," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 114(2), pages 117-132, April.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v14:y:2026:a:12508. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: António Vieira or IT Department (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.cogitatiopress.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.