From Home to City: How Post-Pandemic Remote Work Reshapes Health-Supportive Urban Context

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic imposed transformations in urban life, particularly in the relationship between people, place, and work. Among these, the widespread normalization of working from home (WFH) reshaped spatial behaviors, challenged long-standing assumptions about urban development, and emphasized how individuals are exposed to health and well-being in urban settings. This doctoral thesis investigates how the post-pandemic shift toward WFH influences urban structure, residential decision-making, and health-supportive environments, with empirical grounding in the high-density, spatially constrained context of Hong Kong. Drawing on five interrelated studies, it conceptualizes WFH not as a singular disruption but as a structural realignment in how residential context is used, perceived, and valued. Positioned at the intersection of urban studies, health-supportive design, and behavioral geography, the research examines these evolving dynamics across macro, meso, and micro scales.

At the macro scale, exploring spatial perceptions and population movements, the findings reveal an apparent shift from spatial norms of fixed locations, residential choices, and centrality of urban business districts, characterized by transitional flexibility rather than permanent exodus from city cores. Additionally, real estate market and population density data showed subtle ongoing decentralization towards suburban areas. At the meso scale, where the thesis assesses the relocation decisions, the research uncovers residential priorities: home attributes have been found more decisive than neighborhood amenities in shaping relocation intentions. WFH frequency and commute time acted as significant contributors to relocation intentions.

At the micro scale, investigating health-supportive residential environments for WFH, the study deepens the understanding of how built environments can support health. The findings reveal that WFH may reduce engagement in health-supportive behaviors while increasing exposure to health-threatening behaviors, especially in environments lacking supportive physical and social features. The research emphasizes that improvements in neighborhood infrastructure must be paired with social connectivity to effectively support well-being. Moreover, the study points to equity concerns, showing that renters face greater health risks than homeowners. At the dwelling context, the findings further show that physical, mental, and social health are interdependent, presenting the influential features, and with mental health emerging as a key factor linking the features.

Together, these studies present a multi-scalar account of how WFH reshapes urban life, and the urgency of rethinking housing standards, neighborhood planning, and urban policy through a lens of flexibility, equity, and health-supportiveness. The thesis argues that in an era of ongoing spatial fluidity, planning should move beyond static zoning and embrace adaptive, integrated approaches, such as updated housing standards that ensure space for WFH, investment in neighborhood social infrastructure to strengthen community ties, and flexible urban design frameworks that can adjust to shifting patterns of living and working. Although rooted in the unique spatial logic of Hong Kong, the thesis proposes conceptual pathways and practical implications applicable to other dense urban contexts with comparable space constraints and limited dwelling space.

Date of Award	18 May 2026
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	City University of Hong Kong
Supervisor	Paulina Maria NEISCH (Supervisor)