Preparing cities for new ways of working - insights from the Remote-IT network
When the Remote-IT URBACT Action Planning Network started its work in 2023, the eight partner cities shared a common intuition- that remote and hybrid work were not a temporary legacy of the COVID-19 pandemic, but a structural shift reshaping labour markets, mobility patterns, tourism, public administration, and urban life. What they did not yet have was a clear understanding of what this shift meant at city level, what their specific role should be, or how to respond in a way that was strategic rather than reactive.
Remote-IT was created to fill that gap. Over two years, the network enabled cities to move from fragmented experimentation and abstract debates to concrete strategies, tested actions, and integrated plans for the future of work. The result is not only eight Integrated Action Plans, but a shared body of knowledge, tools, and lessons that are now available to other cities through the Remote-IT Digital Playbook.
