R-Map online exchanges: six online cross-regional dialogues on remote work and its territorial impacts

Between 5 and 23 November 2026, the R-Map project hosts six online dialogues on how remote and hybrid working is reshaping urban, peri-urban and rural areas. METREX invites members and partners working on metropolitan and regional policy to participate in the dialogues.

Remote and hybrid working are raising important questions about the relationship between where people live, where they work and how regions develop. For metropolitan areas and regional authorities, understanding these dynamics is increasingly relevant to policy discussions on mobility, housing, spatial planning and local economic development. What opportunities might remote work create for metropolitan peripheries and rural areas? How might it reshape commuting patterns, the role of urban centres and access to services? And how can policymakers better understand and respond to these changes?

The R-Map project explores these questions through use cases across European regions, examining the spatial, economic and social dimensions of remote working. By looking at concrete regional experiences, the project offers insights into the dynamics at play and a basis for learning across territories. The six cross-regional dialogues will bring these experiences into conversation, creating opportunities to discuss what the findings reveal, identify lessons that may be relevant to other regions, and explore shared challenges and opportunities for metropolitan and regional policy.

Cross-regional Dialogues

Each online dialogue centres on one R-Map use case. It combines a short presentation of region-specific scenarios and results with facilitated discussion, region-to-region exchange and interactive activities. The aim is to test findings and policy measures against the experience of other regions, and to ask which of them could transfer to other contexts. 

• 5 November, 13:00–14:30 CET: Turning cross-border remote work into regional opportunity (Rheintal–Bodensee, Austria) 

• 6 November, 12:30–14:00 CET: Co-designing a work-life hub network (Surrey, United Kingdom) 

• 12 November, 11:00–12:30 CET: The spatial dimension of remote work in Thessaloniki (Thessaloniki, Greece) 

• 13 November, 11:00–12:00 CET: Cross-border remote working (Twente–Münsterland, Netherlands–Germany) 

• 18 November, 10:00–11:30 CET: Needs-based occupational health governance for safe, flexible and climate-resilient work (Istanbul, Türkiye) 

• 23 November, 14:00–15:30 CET: Metropolitan governance of distributed work: integrating city and periphery (Milan, Italy) 

Who should participate?

The dialogues are aimed above all at people working in and for metropolitan areas and regions. This includes officers and policymakers in spatial planning, mobility, economic development, labour markets, housing, digital infrastructure and rural development. Researchers, employers, workers’ associations and civil society organisations are also welcome. The discussion is better when the people who design policy hear from those who live with its effects. 

How to register 

You can choose up to three dialogues through the registration form.  

Cross-regional dialogues | R-Map project

The R-Map project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No 101132497. The information and views set out in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the European Union. Neither the European Union institutions and bodies nor any person acting on their behalf may be held responsible for the use which may be made of the information contained therein. 

UK participants in the Horizon Europe project R-Map are supported by UKRI grant number 10106145 (University of Surrey).