Zoomtowns, Mobility, and the ‘Invisible’ Population of the Countryside

The Covid-19 pandemic entailed a spread of new digital forms of work which mean that a mandatory presence at a defined workplace has been replaced by the ability to work remotely. Not least second homes have become important nodes for these new temporally and spatially flexible arrangements.

The purpose of the project is now to analyze partly changes in mobility during and after the pandemic, partly the consequences of these changes for the places in the countryside that have become attractive for remote work.

One assumption is that only certain places in the countryside with attractive environments such as the sea and mountains and access to a good internet connection have succeeded in attracting remote workers. These places can then be developed into urban environments, so-called "Zoomtowns".

While these leave physical and economic imprints in the destination, they remain "invisible" in population statistics because their inhabitants have multi-local lifestyles that combine several residences and do not lead to population registration in the rural municipality.

The change in mobility thus challenges a tax system based on the notion that households only live and work in one place.

To study the phenomenon, cellphone data is used, which allows studying mobility in a more detailed way than before, and public statistics on population and business life.

As a supplement, interviews are conducted with civil servants and other public actors in a selection of affected municipalities.