TITLE:
Transforming Vacant Commercial Spaces: From Localized Hotspots of Urban Shrinkage to “Smart” Co-Working Places
AUTHORS:
Stella Manika
KEYWORDS:
Shrinking Cities, Smart Cities, Innovation, Sharing Economy, Co-Working Spaces, Urban Renaissance, Urban Policies, Sense of Community
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.8 No.6,
June
5,
2020
ABSTRACT: Shrinking
cities (i.e., regions, cities, towns, or metropolitan areas that are facing
population reductions and intense economic and social transformation) typically
include an abundance of abandoned residential units, office buildings, and
vacant shops. Strongly affected by the recent economic and financial crisis,
Greek cities have shown strong signs of urban shrinkage with thousands of
businesses closing down since 2011. These vacant properties can be reclaimed
for new uses, in particular for the development of new working styles and forms
of sharing economy, with the view to promote innovation and growth. Sharing
economy and co-working spaces or makerspaces can play a crucial role to support
social and professional interaction and promote the innovative and “smart”
development of the city. This paper develops a methodological and conceptual
framework to examine and document the localized hotspots of urban shrinkage
that could be used as co-working spaces in Larissa, a typical medium-sized
Greek city. The framework to identify the optimal localised hotspots in Larisa
(i.e.
vacant commercial spaces to be considered as viable co-working spaces) was
based on the results of the literature review and the analysis of the
respective spatial and quantitative data. These hotspots can become dynamic
nodes of a network structure at a city scale contributing to the renaissance of
its economic, social, and innovative profile.