Introduction
Saint-Quentin will pilot four sharing stations designed to improve access to leisure equipment, outdoor exploration tools, and practical household appliances across different neighbourhoods. By tailoring each station to its local environment and user needs, the initiative aims to support active lifestyles, promote sustainable consumption, and make shared resources more accessible to residents and visitors.
Location
The stations will be placed in a range of public and community-oriented settings:
- Two in a park
- One in an eco-neighbourhood
- One in the municipality’s Victor Bash welcome office.
The locations were selected in cooperation with municipal services and elected officials and informed by citizen feedback, ensuring that the sharing stations respond directly to local expectations and neighbourhood needs.
Sharing station types
The pilot will deploy three stations with seven items each and one station with at least twelve items, serving local residents, families, young people, and visitors.
- Public park stations: equipped with free-of-charge leisure and sports items such as balls, rackets, and frisbees.
- Park House: focused on free-of-charge nature exploration tools including binoculars, guides, and compasses.
- Eco-neighbourhood station: offers pay-per-use shared tools and household appliances such as a carpet cleaner, drill, and vacuum cleaner.
- Victor Bash welcome office: provides pay-per-use household equipment tailored to resident needs.
The business model varies by station: leisure and nature-related equipment is offered for free to ensure broad accessibility, whereas tools and appliances use a pay-per-use model to support maintenance and responsible use.
Objectives
Saint-Quentin has set the following objectives for the pilot phase and beyond:
- Improve access to shared equipment for residents and visitors in selected neighbourhoods and public spaces.
- Encourage physical activity, outdoor recreation, and nature exploration, especially among young people and families.
- Test the usability, management model, and operational feasibility of the different station types.
- Promote long-term sustainable behaviour and reduce individual ownership of equipment, supporting the city’s circular economy goals.
- Collect data and user feedback to inform a scalable model for future city-wide deployment.