Coworking Spaces as Vehicles for Place-based Skill Development in Left-behind Regions

We examine how coworking spaces can serve as vehicles for place-based skill development in economically left-behind regions. Drawing on original fieldwork and survey data, we explore the role that coworking spaces play in fostering skill accumulation, knowledge exchange, and professional networking beyond major urban centres. Our findings suggest that coworking spaces offer a distinctive form of place-based infrastructure that enables workers in peripheral regions to access learning opportunities, collaborative networks, and entrepreneurial resources that would otherwise be concentrated in larger cities. By bringing together diverse workers — including freelancers, remote employees, and small business owners — coworking spaces create informal learning environments where skills are developed through interaction and shared practice. This research contributes to ongoing debates about regional inequality, the geography of skills, and the potential of place-based policy interventions to support economic development in left-behind communities across the UK and beyond.