Thinking through digital mediations and spatialities of platform based work: A roundtable reflection

This paper is a unique roundtable discussion between geographers to explore, contextualize and problematize the role of geography in the gig economy. It brings together eight researchers from across Europe all working with qualitative methods and studying the gig economy. Based on reflections and commentaries regarding the spatialities and temporalities in and of the gig economy, we offer an innovative approach to exploring complicated factors in an emerging and rapidly growing field. We highlight the multiple layers of geography in physical and digital spaces and the, sometimes blurry, interactions between these. We also show how temporalities shape the geographies of the gig economy. This paper contributes to developing, deepening and advancing theoretical challenges in understanding the gig economy. It also brings these challenges into an accessible, yet thorough publication that can be used in teaching about the gig economy and digital geography. We provide a pedagogical tool to support university teachers in using this document in their courses.