The role of proximity coworking spaces in the post-pandemic platform urbanism

This article investigates how Community Workspace managers in Milan conceptualize their role within urban governance and space. Based on qualitative interviews, it identifies three ideal-typical relationships with local institutions: beneficiaries, partners, and policy providers. These situated perspectives reveal how CWS navigate tensions between market logic, civic engagement, and territorial embeddedness, often positioning themselves as intermediaries between grassroots actors and public authorities. The article contributes to debates on platform urbanism by introducing the notion of CWS as Local Collective Cooperation Goods, highlighting both their potential and the challenges of integrating private actors into post-neoliberal governance frameworks grounded in proximity and cooperation.