The ambient office: Remote work and the post-digital downtown

Abstract

In many United States cities, a rise in remote work is blamed for an ‘office apocalypse,’ with dire news reports claiming downtown districts are in a ‘death spiral.’ As a reaction to the normalization of digitalized remote work, many cities are responding to the spatial consequences of digital mobilities by trying to make themselves more attractive to new publics. Although this includes plans to convert offices to apartments, for the most part planners continue to view the office as a fixed location that will become more attractive if people live near it. This paper suggests cities should recognize how knowledge workers touristify the workday, seeking to blend work and leisure across urban space. Based on reviews of scholarship and market reports about central office districts and remote work, theories of branding and atmospheres, and a ‘scenario’ developed through interviews with planners from multiple cities alongside observations of remote work in Denver, Colorado, the article suggests the office maintains a significant role in downtowns in its post-digital—its ambient—form.