Localisation et effets des télécentres dans les territoires ruraux: le cas du Cantal (France)

Even if the commitment of the public policies supporting the development of telework is not new, French planners are still using telework centers whereas new “objects” are already emerging (“coworking spaces”, “FabLabs”, etc.). Based on an empirical study in the region of Cantal (France), this paper deals with the spatial effects of telework centers in isolated and rural areas. The analysis of offer and uses questions the perspectives and the limits of these tools whose success or failure seems to depend on many interrelated factors: actors’ strategies and imbrication of their actions at multiple scales, various technical offers, different users, uses and non-use and external factors. Some of these factors appear more structuring, in particular those related to location, and others, more socio-technical, produce some exceptions.