New EU platform shows how remote work is changing where Europeans live

The project has surveyed more than 20,000 people across Europe, Türkiye and the UK. That survey data is combined with regional indicators and local insight in the R-Map model, which assesses the long-term social, economic, environmental and spatial impacts of remote work. The project runs until January 2027. 

The R-Map platform is now live, giving policymakers an interactive dashboard to explore the data, compare regions and test what-if scenarios before committing to investment in areas such as digital infrastructure, housing and transport. 

Dr Nikolas Thomopoulos, Associate Professor in Transport at the University of Surrey, leads the Surrey use case. The county sits alongside Thessaloniki, Istanbul, Milan and two cross-border regions, Germany–Netherlands and Austria–Switzerland, allowing researchers to compare how remote work plays out in very different local conditions to highlight any urban – rural differences. 

A submission based on R-Map work was accepted by the House of Lords Call for Evidence into home-based working, and the University hosted two R-Map workshops – in February and June 2026 – bringing together stakeholders from Surrey County Council, Surrey Chamber of Commerce, Network Rail, the banking sector and NGOs to shape the project's findings. 

According to figures from the European Central Bank cited by the project, the share of employees working from home at least occasionally rose from 12 per cent in 2019 to 22 per cent in 2024. The EU’s Rural Vision Action Plan has already identified rural decline as a challenge, aiming to make rural areas stronger, more connected and more resilient by 2040. R-Map is testing when remote work supports regional development and when it adds to existing pressures, such as rising housing costs, through tourism and digital nomads, for example.