Yes, especially if it can be localized, cost-efficiently. Recommended a neighborhood version of WeWork while participating in the Round Rock UniverCity civic program. Switchyards, an Atlanta-based co-working startup, is scaling across the country after raising venture funding. It uses existing spaces similar to Airbnb. I’ve been part of WeWork and other similar spaces. My favorite third place was the original Bay Club, a world class tennis club in SF which had really cool amenities for work and pleasure. Unfortunately, it got shut down. The Collective in Seattle is another awesome third place.

What I really like about Switchyards is the idea of having a co-working space much closer to home where everyone knows your name like the famous Cheers Bar. 😃

Instead of drinking, it becomes a place to work, network, and make friends. Switchyards charges $100/month. It’s not pocket change, but my daily coffee and lunch run adds up as a remote worker. There’s incredible value if I had a space like this within 15 minutes of home. It also conforms to the concept called the ‘15-minute city’ that is transforming Paris. Could that work in suburbia if more co-working spaces existed?

I believe Switchyards can help address the isolation and ‘lack of community’ problem in suburbia where it’s much easier for families to stay glued to screens at home than meet their neighbors.

Neighbors turn to the hornet’s nest of social media apps like Meta, NextDoor, Reddit, or Discord to discuss the strangers next door or random crimes seemingly committed all hours of the day. In my anecdotal experience of living in the Austin metro area, the younger population views suburbia with increasing suspicion. There is a flight towards the city center due to the lack of activities and soul crushing isolation in the surrounding suburbs.

How can suburbia be saved? Baby boomers hold down the fort, but their kids aren’t seeking suburbia even with pass down homes available to them. Suburbia could be remodeled with neighborly co-working spaces and new mini-downtowns.

Switchyards has become a game-changer across Atlanta where one can hop across town and get work done while soaking in different hoods full of mission-driven people. One can easily walk or make a short commute to their local Switchyards club.

I really hope Switchyards or some version of it comes to Texas.

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