Does Telework Make People Experience More Segregation in Daily Activity Spaces?

Jun Cao, Tanhua Jin, Zhou Mengyao and Tao Shou
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Jun Cao: School of Architecture, Southeast University, China
Tanhua Jin: School of Architecture, Southeast University, China / Department of Geography, Ghent University, Belgium / School of Business and Economics, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Zhou Mengyao: School of Architecture, Southeast University, China
Tao Shou: School of Architecture, Southeast University, China

Social Inclusion, 2026, vol. 14

Abstract: Telework reshapes daily mobility, but its implications for lived social exposure remain underexplored. This study examines whether and how telework affects experienced racial segregation by integrating socioeconomic characteristics, built‐environment context, and activity–travel behavior in a structural equation modeling analysis. Using pooled cross‐sectional data from the Puget Sound Regional Travel Surveys (2017, 2019, 2021), we distinguish residential segregation (home census block group) from experienced segregation measured across non‐work activity destinations using an entropy‐based index of multi‐group racial diversity. Results show that telework is associated with an increase in experienced racial segregation, primarily through mobility reorganization: Telework increases non‐work activity participation but reduces the spatial extent of daily activity spaces, and the localization effect dominates. Residential segregation remains a strong baseline determinant, yet telework contributes additional exposure differences beyond the residential context. Telework adoption is structurally patterned by socioeconomic and built‐environment conditions, while density and accessibility shape exposure indirectly via activity behaviors. These findings imply that telework policy is not socially neutral; hybrid arrangements and compact, mixed‐use, amenity‐rich environments may mitigate telework‐related exposure segregation.

Keywords: activity space; mobility; segregation; telework; travel behavior (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cog:socinc:v14:y:2026:a:11557

DOI: 10.17645/si.11557

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