Co-working spots are cropping up in all major metros. And who wouldn’t be lured by all the free coffee, networking and sexy surroundings? With remote work and startup culture in full swing, we all saw this coming.
In the Twin Cities where I am it seems like a new spot opens every few months. Very cool ones too, I dig the digs. Some spots come with the message of inclusion and female empowerment, some serving the savvy startups, some kind of exclusive and all come with a significant price tag.
One day driving I needed to duck into a room for a call and found Iโd have to pay $50 for the day at one of the popular ones. Sure, everyone here can probably afford that. But what about the rest of the community? Are we actually closing ourselves off from people right in our neighborhood by creating these exclusive clubs?
I walked right into my local library and got to use a room for free as long as I needed. (Library staff are some of the best! ๐๐ฝ) There was no free coffee.. I wasnโt surrounded by women like me or people in tech.. but I saw cool art, people getting tax help, students, families, and I realized how important it is to support our libraries too. Not only a ๐๐๐๐ resource ๐๐ค๐ง ๐๐ก๐ก.. but they do ๐ด๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ค๐ฉ for our communities you might not even know about.
I love the swanky new coworking spaces as much as the next gal.. but is this actually filling a gap? Or could it be widening the gap between people like you and people not like you..
How might we show up for our libraries?
TแผE IแแชIE แOแแแแชTแฉแT
๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฑ๐๐ฐ๐ ยป๐๐ซยซ ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ป
Iโm Heatherlee. An independent research and design consultant with a background in UX, a passion for service design, an interest in biomimicry and a stake in your strategy. Iโm passionate about helping you bridge the gap between your product teams and the people you design for.
Contact info & more about me here.
heatherlee.design blog 
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