Be it someone who parties all night, a slob who leaves the bathroom a mess, or a person who never leaves their room, everyone's had a bad flat mate. New York start-up Roomi is a mobile marketplace that's attempting to put an end to this by connecting people to their perfect roommate.

One Santa Fe is an LA-based apartment block of dense housing, but instead of building up, homes are spread across a site that’s a quarter of a mile long. With 25% of Americans not even knowing their neighbours' names, can a 'horizontal skyscraper’ recreate the social bonds of a close-knit community?

The digital economy has enabled a nomadic workforce, and co-living start-up Roam is tapping into it by creating a network of communal living spaces. With a lease that lets you move between international live-work spaces, this model is enabling a new wave of truly global citizens.

Dissatisfied with rigid corporate structure, a growing number of people are opting to be self-employed; freelancers are set to make up 40% of the US workforce by 2020. Many independent workers are being drawn to coworking spaces in cities, but what’s the appeal of these communal offices?