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The aim of this work was to put the Nordic-based research from the Remote work and multilocality post-pandemic project

These reports include Randall et al. (2022-a), Randall et al. (2022-b), Ormstrup Vestergård (2022), Stjernberg et al. (2024), Granath Hansson and Guðmundsdóttir (2024), and Bogason et al. (2024-a); see “Synthesis of the research project Remote work and multilocality post-pandemic” below.

into dialogue with the wider discourse on remote work, specifically through the lens of spatial planning. To do so, we conducted a literature review of international research and compared this work with research results from the six previous Nordregio publications. The results provide a review of major themes concerning remote work and spatial planning internationally and the prevalence and potential relevance of such topics within the Nordic countries. We also curated from the international and Nordic research the relevant results indicating changes for policymaking and spatial planning. The nuances from the international literature review also provide some potential pathways for future research on the topic of remote work in the Nordic context.

To explore the latest remote work discourse in relation to spatial planning, a systematic literature review was conducted between March and May of 2024. The researcher made various keyword searches on the Scopus peer-reviewed literature database using a combination of remote work-related terms (e.g., remote work, hybrid work, multilocality, work from home) and urban planning-related terms (e.g., spatial, planning, geography, urban, rural, city). To account for shifts in the discourse during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, the literature search was limited to articles published from 2018 to 2024. Search results were filtered by relevant subject areas (e.g., social sciences). A total of 63 articles were initially curated on the spatial planning implications of remote work. To complement these articles, a further 8 articles were included through an additional Google Scholar search on remote work and work from home in relation to spatial planning. In the review process, researchers excluded several articles that were deemed irrelevant to the theme of spatial implications—for example, articles focussing on management processes of remote work. Several additional articles cross-referenced in the selected literature led the researchers to add 17 academic articles to the total number of articles reviewed. This was especially important for collecting additional, Nordic-based studies that did not initially emerge in the Scopus database searches.

The researchers made a thematic coding analysis of the articles, tagging them first according to time period (pre-, during, or post-pandemic) and geographical scope of the article, and then sorting them according to common emerging themes (e.g., land use planning, urban design, urban-rural linkages, housing, transportation, co-working spaces). The researchers synthesised these themes into six main categories, which are reflected in the six sections of the spatial dimensions of remote work used in this report. Then, the Nordic-based research from the Remote work and multilocality post-pandemic project was reviewed, with research findings tagged according to the themes from the international academic literature.

Complementary to the academic literature review, researchers also reviewed a limited selection of recent documents and non-academic articles on the defined themes related to remote work and spatial planning, specifically from media outlets and agencies from the Nordic countries. These included reports on surveys in various regions within the Nordics as well as European and international reports on the spatial implications of remote work (e.g., Eurofound and OECD).

Going forward, it would be useful to expand the document study in this fast-moving research field, especially as the academic literature tends to be published at a slower pace due to peer-review processes. Moreover, document studies in the Nordic context, where academic literature is sparse, might uncover perspectives not found in the academic literature. In this project, surveys made by regions are examples of that.

The literature review gathered a broad spectrum of information from a wide variety of geographical contexts, including many international studies from cultural, geographic, and institutional contexts different to that of the Nordic countries. Despite these distinctions, many international studies remained relevant as a starting point for understanding the spatial implications felt worldwide during and after the pandemic. Moreover, it helped to identify interesting research questions and provided insights on data and methods used to assess remote work, thereby highlighting gaps and areas that warrant deeper investigation.