Insights from tomorrow’s architects: Remote working – urban utopia or dystopia?

In London, an employee spends, on average, 1 hour and 19 minutes per day commuting. Over 35 years, this amounts to more than six additional years of work. Urban sprawl has forced many workers to live at considerable distances from their workplaces in city centres. Gentrification and the rise of short-term rental platforms have further driven this exodus.

The lack of public intervention affects not just the working classes but the entire social fabric. As Richard Florida notes in The New Urban Crisis: “It’s hard to sustain a functional urban economy when teachers, nurses, hospital workers, police officers, firefighters, and restaurant and service workers cannot afford to live within reasonable commuting distance.”

Could remote working (often referred to in EU policy documents as “teleworking”) offer a solution? The pandemic forced companies and workers to adopt new strategies overnight, many of which have remained in place.

Currently, up to 41% of employees in the European Union are in professions that lend themselves to remote working – typically higher-paid roles requiring greater qualifications. In the UK, the figures are similar.

Einstein famously remarked that “logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere”. So, let’s get carried away by imagination.

A significant portion of remote workers might choose to live in the countryside or smaller cities, seeking more affordable and spacious housing, lower living costs, and a better quality of life. This could slow the growth of larger cities. As people move out of urban centres, their homes might become available for students, key workers, and young singles who prefer the vibrancy of city life.

As the culture of long commutes fades, cars could give way to more ecological modes of transport 

Office construction could decline, and vacant office buildings might be converted into collective workspaces or housing. In Madrid, a new law permits the conversion of office buildings into affordable rental homes, with an initial phase set to deliver 20,000 units.

In London, which has 26,148,000m² of office space, converting just half could theoretically yield around 150,000 new apartments. With the right policies, these homes could accommodate students, workers, and families.

As the culture of long commutes fades, cars could give way to more ecological modes of transport such as bicycles, electric scooters, trams, or high-speed trains for regional connectivity. New rail and metro lines might become less critical, potentially reducing the carbon footprint of future urban development.

Railways and highways that currently divide neighbourhoods could be restructured or reduced, creating space for pedestrian routes, green areas, and cycling infrastructure. Examples such as New York’s High Line or Madrid Río show how such interventions can support regeneration and improve urban connectivity.

The principles set out by the ARB, including “designing to preserve, integrate, and enhance natural habitats,” as outlined in its sustainability competence guidelines, align with this more optimistic view of remote working as part of a broader urban transformation. Cities could become more compact, inclusive, and humane.

Remote working is increasingly viewed as a tool for attracting and retaining talent

However, this vision is not without challenges. Remote working may exacerbate inequalities, as many low- and middle-skilled jobs cannot be carried out from home. The European Commission has warned of a “teleworkability divide” that could deepen existing labour market disparities. A construction worker, for example, might face low pay and demanding physical conditions in the UK, or worse, work under exploitative systems such as the kafala regime. Inequality arises not from the nature of in-person work itself, but when fundamental rights are denied.

If key workers had access to affordable housing near their workplaces, the benefits in terms of time, cost, and quality of life would be considerable. Neighbourhoods free of polluting cars, with parks and public space, would be widely beneficial.

But realising this vision depends on effective public intervention to regulate housing and safeguard workers. The father of capitalism, Adam Smith, believed that when regulation “is in favour of the [worker], it is always just and equitable.”

In my experience as a young professional working in two architecture practices, remote working remains a sensitive topic in the industry – almost taboo. Yet some sectors are beginning to shift towards valuing outcomes over hours, which is a critical step toward a more socially and environmentally sustainable model of work.

Many professionals are pursuing new career paths as workplace expectations evolve, including a growing desire for flexibility and trust in individual autonomy. Remote working is increasingly viewed as a tool for attracting and retaining talent. Hybrid models offer flexibility without losing the collaborative benefits of in-person teamwork – a balance that could reshape not only architectural practice, but the cities that practice helps to shape.