Far away and yet so close: urban-rural linkages in the context of multilocal work arrangements

Digital technologies allow knowledge workers to work from multiple locations in both urban and rural areas, creating urban-rural linkages. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) play a critical role. We used a novel mixed-methods approach to combine quantitative data from laptop and smartphone tracking with qualitative data from ethnographic walk-along observations and semi-structured interviews to analyse the creation of urban-rural linkages and temporary proximity in multilocal work arrangements. The results show that multilocal knowledge workers create urban-rural linkages on demand, thereby generating temporary proximity between the urban and the rural. Yet, the economic embedding of these workers in the rural is limited.