Institutional portal - Municipality of Milan

Tajani: "To start building a new city based on proximity we need to modify the places and spaces of work with the contribution of businesses, administrations and intermediate bodies"

Milan, March 15 2021 – Milan redesigns spaces, times and ways of working to look to the future. This morning, in live streaming, "Working close to home, coworking and near working for the city 15 minutes away", the meeting conceived and organized by the Municipality of Milan which brought together the world of institutions, universities , businesses and trade unions. At the round table, the Councilor for Labor Policies, Productive Activities and Trade Cristina Tajani with Massimo Bonini, General Secretary of CGIL Milan, Vittorio Biondi, Director of the Industrial Policies and Territorial Competitiveness Sector of Assolombarda, Massimo Carraro, founder of Rete Cowo starting from results of a series of investigations conducted by the Polytechnic of Milan, the University of the Sacred Heart of Milan and by Collaboriamo.

"We want to be the first Administration to experiment with new places and new ways of working that are in tune with the construction of a Milan 15 minutes away and contribute to redesigning the way of living and using the city and its post-pandemic services - so the 'councillor Tajani -: smart working will accompany us even after the health emergency. We must therefore work on collective bargaining and public policies capable of limiting its negative effects, such as domestic confinement, and emphasizing the positive ones, such as saving time in travel and the best conciliation between life and work times".

The morning began with a reflection on the results and themes that emerged from the three studies that explore the distribution of coworking spaces in the city, their evolution and how they can contribute to the construction of a new city that can be used in 15 minutes. The three reports offer an integrated perspective on the possible present and future. The key words, which recur in all the reports, are: polycentrism, proximity, hybridisation.

The first, "The geography of coworking spaces in Milan. A territorial analysis" created by DAStU - Polytechnic of Milan, analyzes the geography of work spaces, demonstrating how the coworking phenomenon is predominantly urban: 51% in fact is concentrated in the 14 metropolitan areas, with Milan holding the record, hosting 119 in 2021, with a growth of 75% compared to 2014. Structures that show good coverage of the territory between the centre, semi-centre and suburbs, developing mostly in peripheral areas and always reachable in less than 15 minutes by bicycle, thus contributing to the construction of a new model of city ​​more attentive to proximity. By comparing the data on telephone traffic of TIM users in the pre- and post-lockdown period, the research then highlighted how mobility between the suburbs and the center has decreased, revealing a potential demand for solutions for carrying out professional and entertainment closest to your home.

The second investigation, "The transformation of Milan's coworking spaces in the pandemic emergency", created by TRAILab - Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, analyzes the experiences of coworking spaces during the pandemic emergency and the opinions of coworking managers regarding future development directions. The 87 direct interviews with space managers out of a total of 127 present in the city, revealed that 57% lost customers during 2020 and 48% had to reduce the number of stations. However, encouraging signs emerge from the crisis: 35% of managers declare they have had new customers from the neighbourhood. The clientele is therefore changing, in fact 52% of managers have received requests for workstations or offices from companies while 37% have received private employees interested in carrying out smart working in environments other than their own home. A new need that can represent an incentive for public institutions, companies and professionals to rethink their offices and work spaces with greater attention to proximity and hybridization.

The third survey conducted by Work with me, looks to the future by outlining the profile that coworking should have in the city of tomorrow: that is, training and learning centers available to the neighborhood and a true hybrid place for the exchange of services, goods and skills. Fundamental, so that proximity coworking spaces are not islands within cities, is the need to create a network capable of strengthening relationships and exchanges, defining a common proposal in terms of offering and promoting the services offered.

The meeting was also an opportunity to present the new online information campaign created by Milano & partners and the new section on the website YesMilan  to make citizens aware of the coworking network active in the area. With more than 100 spaces, accredited on the qualified list of the Municipality distributed in all areas of the city, the Lombard capital is the Italian capital of coworking. Some very large, others small and intimate, each with its own offer of services: meeting rooms, baby sitting services, training activities, moments of meeting and socialising. Originally they were frequented mainly by freelancers, freelancers and young creatives. Today, with the Covid-19 crisis and the spread of smart working, these realities constitute a resource for all those looking for an alternative to working from home and long commutes to the office. You can discover the realities present in your neighborhood or consult the georeferenced map of the city to find the solution in line with your needs or closest to your home.