Cross-text multiple matching
You are going to read four short texts on the same theme. For questions 1-4, choose the text (A–D) which matches each statement.
The rise of remote work and its long-term impact on cities and working life
Compare viewpoints across four writers
urban economist
Remote work is reshaping city centres, but the shift is uneven and requires targeted policy rather than nostalgia.
People keep asking whether remote work is “killing” cities. That’s the wrong lens. What we’re seeing is a redistribution of footfall and spending, not a disappearance of urban value. Central business districts built around five-day commuting are over-supplied with office space, so vacancies are inevitable. Yet neighbourhood cafés, local gyms and co-working hubs in outer districts are gaining customers. The main risk is inequality: highly paid professionals can choose where to live, while service workers still travel to where jobs are. If policymakers simply subsidise office landlords, they’ll freeze an outdated model. Better options include converting surplus offices into housing, improving public transport beyond the centre, and revising zoning to allow mixed-use streets. Cities have reinvented themselves before; the trick is to plan for the new pattern instead of pretending the old one will return.
Which writer argues that the impact of remote work should be understood as a shift in where city activity happens, and that propping up the old office-centred model would be a mistake?
Which writer believes flexible working is most successful when employers replace ‘being seen’ with clear expectations and results-based management?
Which writer is concerned that remote work has encouraged a more controlling culture—through tracking tools or constant check-ins—that can undermine deeper, creative thinking?
Which writer, while not opposing remote work in principle, stresses that businesses dependent on weekday commuters need rapid, practical support because they can’t survive a long wait for conditions to improve?
0 of 4 answered