The Streetbank is a
UK-based network and
Website
A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google, Facebook, Amazon, and W ...
that helps users share items with their neighbours which was launched in July 2010 by Sam Stephens and Ryan Davies in
West London
West London is the western part of London, England, north of the River Thames, west of the City of London, and extending to the Greater London boundary.
The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: North Londo ...
.
Sam Stephens initially set it up to encourage neighbors to share items that they own but do not use every day, such as
ladders,
drills, and hedge cutters, as well as to "save money, cut down on waste, and reduce their
carbon footprint
A carbon footprint is the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by an individual, event, organization, service, place or product, expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). Greenhouse gases, including the carbon-containing gases carbo ...
s".
The purpose of Streetbank is to boost local communities by encouraging people to get to know their neighbours.
Streetbank also allows its users to share advice, skills, language teaching, cooking, and DIY.
The website has 60,000 members worldwide.
It had 15,000 members in September 2012.
More than £1 million worth of skills and items had been listed on the site by October 2013.
The organization has 300 members per square mile in West London, its busiest area.
In 2013,
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...
listed the site as one of the "50 websites you can’t live without".
Accounts are free to set up. Once the account is set up the user will receive emails from other users living nearby. Users can offer items for free or to lend, or offer skills. Members can also make requests and provide information ("notices"). User can choose the size of their "neighbourhood" and can opt to receive messages from other users living within one, five or ten miles. After a user joins Streetbank, they receive a weekly
newsletter
A newsletter is a printed or electronic report containing news concerning the activities of a business or an organization that is sent to its members, customers, employees or other subscribers. Newsletters generally contain one main topic of ...
about local announcements and new offers and wants.
History
The Streetbank was founded in 2010, as a not for profit organization. Founder Sam Stephens says he got the idea when he saw a neighbour using a pair of hedge cutters and realised he needed to borrow some.
In 2012 and 2013, Streetbank was awarded funding by
Nesta
Nesta (formerly NESTA, National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) is an innovation foundation based in the UK.
The organisation acts through a combination of programmes, investment, policy and research, and the formation of part ...
.
In October 2013, Streetbank 2.0 was launched.
In 2014, Streetbank merged with Freeconomy, a similar organisation set up by Mark Boyle (the moneyless man).
Mark continued as part of the Streetbank leadership team.
Press articles
* ''Aljazeera'
"Local Hero: Sam Stephens ... founded Streetbank website with Ryan Davies in 2010, a "people's bank" for more sustainable existence".* ''The Huffington Post'
* ''Daily Candy'
"Borrow from, Lend to and Share with Your Neighbours"* ''London Evening Standard'
"Local website for neighbours who like to give and share"* ''The Big Issue'
"Streetbank shows that everyone can have good neighbours"* ''The Guardian'
"Students: where to find free stuff"
References
External links
*
{{Sharing economy
Neighborhood associations
Sharing economy