**3. Methodology**

The case search and selection process aimed to receive a broad picture of coworking spaces outside of major and university cities. This implied using the criteria "belongs not to the territory of a major city" [134]. This process enabled a broader insight into the concept, excluding major German cities such as Berlin, Hamburg Munich, and Kaiserslautern (population >100.030 [135]), but including smaller cities and the surrounding and hinterland of major cities. We decided not to use the definition of the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR—Bundesinstitut für Bau-, Stadtund Raumforschung) for rural area [136] as the measurement for our investigation, for two reasons: first we want to exclude in our survey only the typical environment of coworking space which are usually to find in major cities and second we want to include as much as potential respondents as possible. This also considers that users of coworking spaces tend to not respond on surveys, because they feel to be over investigated. Due to that we chose a simple and short online survey to repel as few respondents as possible.

The survey structure was such that it should become possible to reveal the volume and type of demands and preferences of users—and what could be the impact of a growing quantity of remote workers in rural coworking spaces on their vicinity. The survey contained different categories of questions (Table 1). The first section addressed the use of coworking spaces and their services. The second section investigated the spatial relation of the coworking space. The third section regarded the vicinity of the coworking space. The fourth and the fifth section asked for personal information and profession of the coworker. Table 1 provides these details.

