The Consumerization of Work in the Modern City: Storefronts, Coworking, and the Convergence of Production and Consumption

Abstract

The use and reuse of urban storefront spaces provide a lens into the economic activities of neighbourhoods and cities. As a spatial typology, the urban storefront has adapted to economic change and accommodated new uses over time. Coworking has emerged as a legitimate social architecture of the new economy, and coworking spaces have increasingly layered themselves into the physical architecture of the storefronts and streetscapes of major cities. This article contextualizes the coworking space along the historic trajectory of the urban storefront and draws from speci fic examples of street-level coworking spaces in New York City developed through exploratory case study methods. The main argument is that by situating coworking space at street level, work has become an increasingly consumerized experience that is marketed and sold like other goods and services. This trend off ers an alternative to retail use, thus providing an opportunity to rebalance the mix of uses in neighbourhoods and cities. The article concludes with re flections to inform planning and design.