From Cork to Blackfriars Bridge — Finding the others

Coming your way...

Coming up on the 24th and 25th of February 2027 is the Workspace Design Show, and the theme is the human experience of work.

An ongoing organising theme of the London Coworking Assembly is "Find the Others," which is taken from the whole conversation about citizenship and the many projects we've become connected to over the years about connecting local communities, so we can find other people who want to participate in our local communities.

And your local coworking space is one of the best gathering points to do this.

We sifted past all the posts about seamless integrations and investment and found these few that help build towards that theme.

From now until the end of next February, together with Urban MBA we will work out that local coworking part and that human experience of work part and find the connection point.

Links worthy of your attention

Connected Hubs — the room where Ireland compares notes

#hubsummit2026 #connectedhubs #ourruralfuture | Connected Hubs

The National Hub Summit 2026 has come to a close at the Shearwater Hotel in Ballinasloe. Thank you to the hub managers from every area of Ireland, our speakers, the state agencies and government departments, and the exhibitors who joined us today. Five years ago, Connected Hubs began as a pilot programme in the Western Region. Today, it is a national network of over 400 hubs, and the annual summit is where that network comes together to share what is working, compare notes and set the direction for the year ahead. The value of this day is truly in the connections made between people, and the ideas and actions that will carry back to towns and villages across Ireland over the next 12 months. Thank you to the Western Development Commission team and everyone who made this day possible. See you in 2027. #HubSummit2026 #ConnectedHubs #OurRuralFuture Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht Teresa Hooks Liam Horan

LinkedInConnected Hubs

Talking about connection.... this week was Ireland's National Hubs Summit, where the Connected Hubs Network gather, this is the ultimate national coworking assembly.

What is Connected Hubs? Five years ago it was a pilot in the Western Region of Ireland, today 400+ hubs, and the summit is the whole network in a room And it's an example of what is possible when a government looks at coworking and flexible workspace as more than just an office.

Andrew in Cork — eight years, still learning

Eight years of running coworking spaces in Cork. Three things I got wrong at the start. 1. I thought people were buying desks. They're buying a reason to leave the house. 2. I thought bigger was… | Andrew Whitaker | 27 comments

Eight years of running coworking spaces in Cork. Three things I got wrong at the start. 1. I thought people were buying desks. They're buying a reason to leave the house. 2. I thought bigger was better. Our quietest space, Culture Marina, is the one people are most protective of. 3. I thought discounts would fill the place. They fill a day. Community fills a month. Still learning, probably still getting things wrong. But the members who've stayed longest all say some version of the same thing: it's the people. | 27 comments on LinkedIn

LinkedInAndrew Whitaker

Andrew's short little post had lots of good advice in it, but what really got my attention was this line:

"I thought discounts would fill the place. They fill a day. Community fills a month."

Make sure you click through and read the 25+ comments on this post.

Karen in The Residence — fifteen minutes from home

You don't need a fifty-minute commute to feel like a professional; you need a fifteen-minute one. I've been saying this for years, but it's nice to see the industry finally catching up. I was a… | Karen Tait | 10 comments

You don't need a fifty-minute commute to feel like a professional; you need a fifteen-minute one. I've been saying this for years, but it's nice to see the industry finally catching up. I was a commuter once: Investment banking, into London, day after day. Early trains, later trains home, that particular kind of tired that has nothing to do with the work itself and everything to do with getting to it. It was relentless. And somewhere in the middle of all that, I remember thinking: this can't be the thing that makes me a professional. It's just the thing that makes me tired. Ain’t that the truth! For a long time, "proper work" meant a proper commute. Somewhere in our heads, distance got tangled up with legitimacy. If you weren't spending an hour on a train, were you really working? I don't buy that, and I haven't for a long time. The biggest shift I'm seeing in enquiries lately isn't people wanting a desk in the middle of a city. It's people wanting one close to home. Not their kitchen table (that's a different problem entirely), but somewhere they can get to in fifteen minutes, do a proper day's work, and still be home in time for the school run without having sacrificed half their day just getting there. We're seeing it across the industry too. Suburban and local coworking spaces are growing faster than city-centre ones. People are starting to work out that presence and location aren't the same thing. You can be fully switched on, fully professional, and still be five minutes from your own front door. That's exactly what I built The Residence to be. Not a satellite office for people who miss London, but a proper, professional place to work on your own doorstep. It’s got the same style, class and ‘feel’ of a ‘real’ London office but none of the hours I used to lose getting there. If you're still commuting out of habit rather than necessity, I'd ask yourself honestly: what's that hour actually buying you? Because I don't think it's buying you much, and I think more people are starting to agree. Picture below is the approach to The Residence, based at Wickham Hall, in Bishops Stortford, I mean come on, how bougie 🩷 | 10 comments on LinkedIn

LinkedInKaren Tait

Part of that local neighbourhood building is overcoming coworking space imposter syndrome, and someone who I don't think ever had it is Karen Tait.

Karen writes, "Not a satellite office for people who miss London, but a proper, professional place to work on your own doorstep."

When you are near any big city, whether it's Wigan versus Manchester or Ilford versus London, the feeling that all the best places are in town is a narrative we can collectively rewrite.

Shazia — property is just property

"Property is just property. Employment is what drives a city, employment and health." This line from Michael Ingall, in GCUC UK's write-up of our conversation, sums up something I believe: that… | Shazia Mustafa

"Property is just property. Employment is what drives a city, employment and health." This line from Michael Ingall, in GCUC UK's write-up of our conversation, sums up something I believe: that buildings are more than occupancy and a good-looking brand. The coworking and flex workspace industry is fast becoming homogeneous, where most talk about being the best location, having the best views or the best facilities, basically listing their features. It reminds me of my time at Nokia, where marketing was selling the phone with the highest megapixels and the longest battery life, until Apple came along and smashed the user experience. I believe great placemaking is exactly that: the best user/customer experience is built on top of the features and designed to create pockets of joy and delight for the people actually using the space. Getting Michael to that Medellín story wasn't luck. We talked it through in the prep call, and I knew it was the story I wanted him to tell on stage. The room felt it, and it's stayed with people since, which is its own proof. Good storytelling is placemaking too: designing something people carry with them long after they've left the room.

LinkedInShazia Mustafa

Building on Karen's line above, this was in Shazia's post, "Property is just property. Employment is what drives a city, employment and health."

Shazia started her coworking space when most coworking community managers were still at primary school, she's seen the harsh economic reality of running a business in London since 2010.

On top of that her coworking space had a nursery, so she had firsthand insight into being a parent and an employer in the coworking industry.

Graham asks Cat — the step before community

What is the difference between belonging and community in coworking?

Graham and Cat spoke at GCUC in London a couple of weeks ago to learn how coworking operators can create a better sense of belonging amongst coworking members and how that can be the kick start for the community growing.

"The lane of coworking that I'm in is so hyper-human focused. Like you were just saying, it's so simple. It's almost intimidating to be in big rooms of people doing big things and big projects, because it's so human. It's so simple. So, those of us — I always bank on the fact that we are a community species. We couldn't survive without each other."

- Cat Johnson

Kofi — the bridge, 1981

On 2 March 1981, Blackfriars Bridge became the scene of a defining moment in Britain’s fight for racial equality. Thousands of people were marching from New Cross to the Houses of Parliament, six… | City Bridge Foundation

On 2 March 1981, Blackfriars Bridge became the scene of a defining moment in Britain’s fight for racial equality. Thousands of people were marching from New Cross to the Houses of Parliament, six weeks after 13 young Black people died in the New Cross fire. They wanted justice for the victims and an end to the silence surrounding their deaths. As the march reached Blackfriars Bridge, police erected a cordon, despite the route having been agreed in advance. Some feared the demonstration would be stopped there. But marchers pressed forward, breaking through the police line and continuing towards Parliament. The confrontation became a powerful symbol of the determination of a community refusing to be ignored. This Black History Month, we’re remembering those who stood together on Blackfriars Bridge and made their voices heard. Their determination helped make history, and their march remains a significant chapter in London’s story. Image: Getty Images

LinkedInCity Bridge Foundation

Kofi reshared this for Black History Month, and I'm putting it here on purpose.

On 2 March 1981, thousands of people marched from New Cross to Parliament, six weeks after thirteen young Black people died in the New Cross fire.

At Blackfriars Bridge, the police put up a cordon even though the route had been agreed in advance. The marchers went through it and kept going.

We spend a lot of time in coworking talking about community.

In London, community has meant that — people who had every reason to stay home, turning out anyway and refusing to be ignored. It's not a coworking word. It's a citizenship word, and it only works if we pay attention to each other.

Ann-Marie and eighty empty hands

UK Childcare Compliance Made Easier with Nuuri | Ann-Marie Kinlock posted on the topic | LinkedIn

This is exactly the kind of thinking we need when it comes to the operational side of childcare in the UK. The level of compliance is real and necessary. Having had the experience of opening my own nursery owners and operators could easily get swamped by the effort it takes to meet and exceed the EYFS framework while managing staff and maintaining a physical building. However, systems like Nuuri could save so much time and effort for the people who have made the choice to build nurseries and take care of the smallest in our society. We opened KindHaus in June this year with a micro team. Coming from an agency background with decades of experience UX mobile first tour booking was a non-negotiable. Just for the record we’ve digitised the majority of our booking system so parents can book a childcare session at 9pm on the phone within minutes. Steven Clarke with you on the mission. Childcare provision in the UK is in desperate need of innovation. The new government funding is great but new thinking will make the industry sustainable and fit for the future

LinkedInAnn-Marie Kinlock

Ann-Marie came to us a different way, we first met when she turned up to one of our London Coworking Assembly breakfasts at the Workspace Design Show, which we've run every year since 2022.

She opened KindHaus in June, a micro team, a coworking space with a nursery beneath it. Agency background, so mobile-first tour booking was never up for discussion — she digitised the booking system before she did much else, and parents can book a session on the phone at nine at night, inside a few minutes.

The post she shared is Steven Clarke's, he asked a room of eighty nursery managers to put a hand up if a parent could book a nursery tour online, right now. No hands went up.

We ask people to book a tour of a coworking space all the time. I've no idea how many of us let them do it online, I'd like to find out.

Before you go...

• Save the date. Online edition of Coworking Canada — 18th November, coworkingcanada.com
• London Coworking Assembly community gathers at Workspace Design Show London — workshops on the morning of two days. Stay tuned!