Villes Au Carré

What Villes Au Carré does

Villes Au Carré is a French non-profit association (Association loi 1901) founded in 2007 and headquartered at 4 allée du Plessis, Tours. It operates as a regional resource centre (centre de ressources) for territorial stakeholders in the Centre-Val de Loire region, organizing its work across four thematic poles — Cohésion sociale, Transitions, Dynamiques citoyennes, and Questions urbaines et territoriales. The organization animates several networks including Transitions & Quartiers, Action Cœur de Ville, the inter-regional GUSP network (co-piloted with RésOvilles across Bretagne, Centre-Val de Loire, and Pays de la Loire), and Cités Éducatives. It co-constructs collaborative projects such as Écho Éco & CO (with three regional federations), Paroles d'habitant·es, and La Part Citoyenne, the latter functioning as a citizen participation platform (lapartcitoyenne.fr).

Its digital product surface includes the villesaucarre.org resource portal (Actus, Ressources, Vidéos), the Notion-based cross-reading interface for the 19 Contrats de Ville of Centre-Val de Loire (2024-2030), the Quartiers & Transitions Justes site with its Enjeux Croisés interactive tool, and La Part Citoyenne. Content distribution extends to LinkedIn, YouTube, Spotify podcasts, and an email newsletter, and the organization produces annual activity reports. The core team consists of approximately nine members, structured horizontally under a collegial model with shared direction across poles, plus an Alternant and a Stagiaire.

Villes Au Carré has no commercial revenue model. It is funded through conventions and partnership agreements with public institutional partners — ANCT, DREETS Centre-Val de Loire, SGAR/Préfecture de Région, Conseil régional Centre-Val de Loire, Banque des Territoires, ADEME, and Fondation Macif — and operates as an interface between state services, local authorities, associative actors, and residents. Its counterparties are public institutions and a membership of 5 individual members and 25+ institutional members (communes, EPCIs, associations). Governance rests on a Bureau (Président Jean-Patrick Gille, Vice-présidents, Trésorière, Secrétaire) and a Conseil d'administration, with a horizontal collegiate operational structure below.

Name

Villes Au Carré

Legal name

Villes au Carré

Website

https://www.villesaucarre.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Villes Au Carré is a French non-profit resource centre, founded in 2007 and based in Tours, that animates regional networks and operates digital platforms for territorial stakeholders — local authorities, state institutions, associations, and residents — across the Centre-Val de Loire region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Development Resource Services

NAICS

Social Advocacy Organizations (8133)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Technical Cooperation, Capacity Building & Policy Advisory Programs (BPADABAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Infrastructure, Housing & Community Development (BPAGABAL), Civil Society Strengthening & Civic Space (BPADAGAD), Housing & Neighborhood Services (Local Housing Programs) (BPAIACAJ)

Keywords

• Urban policy resources
• Citizen participation services
• Community development networks
• Territorial resource center
• Ecological transition support

Headquarters

HQ city

Tours

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Public funding and institutional grants: Villes Au Carré operates as an association (loi 1901) funded by public institutions. Main funders include: ANCT (Agence nationale de la cohésion des territoires), DREETS Centre-Val de Loire, Préfecture de Région (SGAR), Conseil régional Centre-Val de Loire, Banque des Territoires, ADEME, and Fondation Macif. Funding is channeled through conventions and partnership agreements for specific missions (network animation, resource center functions).

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Villes au Carré operates a regional resource center for territorial actors in the Centre-Val de Loire region of France, providing networking, training, knowledge-sharing, and co-construction services across four domains: social cohesion, ecological transitions, civic dynamics, and urban/territorial questions. The organization animates regional networks (Transitions & Quartiers, Action Cœur de Ville, GUSP, Cités Éducatives), organizes events and conferences (Libre Cours, Cap sur la Citoyenneté), and maintains digital platforms (La Part Citoyenne, Quartiers & Transitions Justes, Notion interface for Contrats de ville) to support public institutions, local authorities, and associative actors.

Product overview

Villes au Carré operates as a resource center for territorial stakeholders in Centre-Val de Loire since 2007, offering a suite of platforms, networks, and events across four main domains: Cohésion sociale (social cohesion), Transitions (ecological transitions), Dynamiques citoyennes (citizen dynamics), and Questions urbaines et territoriales (urban and territorial questions). Its core digital products include La Part Citoyenne (citizen participation platform), Quartiers & Transitions Justes (ecological transition tool), and the Contrats de Ville Notion interface. The organization also manages several thematic networks (Transitions & Quartiers, Action Cœur de Ville, GUSP) and organizes events including Libre Cours seminars and Cap sur la Citoyenneté regional tours.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• La Part Citoyenne: Centre d'appui et laboratoire pour la participation et les dynamiques citoyennes - online platform for citizen participation in Centre-Val de Loire

Products and services

• La Part Citoyenne Online citizen participation platform serving as a center of support and laboratory for citizen participation and democratic dynamics in Centre-Val de Loire. Provides resources, a map of citizen initiatives, an agenda, and collaborative tools for citizens, associations, elected officials, and public service agents.
• Quartiers & Transitions Justes Interactive digital tool designed to help local stakeholders understand the intersection of ecological transition, social cohesion, and city policy. Features the 'Enjeux croisés' (crossed issues) interactive resource enabling users to identify convergence points between ecological transition challenges and city policy actions.
• Contrats de Ville — Interactive Notion Interface (Lecture croisée) Interactive Notion-based interface providing cross-reading of the 19 Contrats de Ville of Centre-Val de Loire (2024-2030), enabling dual thematic and territorial approaches through internal hyperlinks.
• Réseau Transitions & Quartiers
• Réseau Action Coeur de Ville (ACV)
• Réseau GUSP (Gestion Urbaine et Sociale de Proximité)
• Libre Cours
• Cap sur la Citoyenneté

Quantifiable outcome

• 103 actions organized/co-organized and 1,520 participants mobilized in 2025
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• ANCT (Agence nationale de la cohésion des territoires)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational agency for territorial cohesion. Main institutional partner providing funding and strategic direction for city policy resource centers. Co-organizer of RNCRPV annual encounters.
• DREETS Centre-Val de LoirecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional directorate for economy, employment, labor, and solidarity. Co-organizes Policy of the City monthly news sessions with Villes au Carré. Supports network animation for adult relay mediators and other city policy actors.
• SGAR / Préfecture de Région Centre-Val de LoirecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSecretary General for Regional Affairs. Delegates mission for ACV network animation and small-medium cities dynamics to Villes au Carré via contrat de plan Estado-Région.
• Conseil régional Centre-Val de LoirecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional council. Supports Villes au Carré activities including Policy of the City coordination, citizen participation (La Part Citoyenne), and transition initiatives. Co-financier via contrat de plan Estado-Région.
• Fédération des Centres Sociaux CVLcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional federation of social centers. Co-founder of Écho Éco & CO project. Partner in Paroles d'habitant·es initiative and citizen participation initiatives.
• Fédération des Acteurs de la Solidarité CVLcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional federation of solidarity actors. Co-founder of Écho Éco & CO project alongside Villes au Carré, Fédération des Centres Sociaux CVL, and Mouvement des Régies.
• Mouvement des Régies de quartiers et de territoires CVLcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional movement of neighborhood and territory agencies. Co-founder of Écho Éco & CO project on ecological transition.
• RNCRPV (Réseau National des Centres de Ressources Politique de la Ville)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational network of city policy resource centers. Villes au Carré participates actively; administrator Marie-Hélène Carlat serves in presidency circle. Annual national encounters co-organized with ANCT.
• Ré-Cit (Réseau citoyenneté Centre-Val de Loire)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional citizenship network. Co-organizer of Pop'Up Citoyenneté event. Partner in European participation encounters.
• ANARÉ (Association nationale des acteurs de la réussite éducative)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational association of educational success program actors. Co-constructed PRE Day 2025 with Villes au Carré and 4 other PRE organizations.
• RésOvillescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-pilot of inter-regional GUSP network (with Bretagne, Centre-Val de Loire, Pays de la Loire regions). Joint organization of GUSP network days and webinars.
• CEMÉA (Centres d'Entraînement aux Méthodes d'Éducation Active)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducational method training centers. Collaborated with Villes au Carré on graphical facilitation for regional mediators day.
• Université de ToursminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional university. Institutional member. Partnership through student projects (Polytech Tours workshops) and research collaboration (LIRTES, CITERES laboratory).
• BGE Berry-TouraineminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBusiness creation support organization. Official partnership formalized via convention at Villes au Carré General Assembly.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• ADEME (Agence de la transition écologique): National agency for ecological transition that financially supports Villes Au Carré's Écho Éco & CO and Transitions pole. Comparable as a national incumbent in the ecological transition field that Villes Au Carré helps deliver at the regional level.
• ANCT (Agence nationale de la cohésion des territoires): The national agency that funds and steers the Politique de la Ville, of which Villes Au Carré is the regional resource centre. Comparable as the upstream incumbent shaping the same policy agenda (contrats de ville, Action Cœur de Ville, Cités Éducatives) on a national scale.

Others

• Banque des Territoires: Public investment arm of Caisse des Dépôts that finances Villes Au Carré and operates in the same urban revitalisation and territorial cohesion space. Comparable as an enabler/funder rather than a direct competitor.
• Décider Ensemble: French think tank promoting citizen participation and democratic deliberation. Adjacent mission to Villes Au Carré's 'Dynamiques citoyennes' pole and La Part Citoyenne platform, focused on policy advocacy and methodological support.
• France Urbaine: Association of France's largest cities and metropolises. Comparable as a representative/convener body for French local authorities working on urban policy, though with a lobbying/political mandate rather than Villes Au Carré's resource-centre orientation.
• Démocratie Ouverte: French civic-tech and citizen participation organisation. Comparable as an actor in the citizen participation and democratic innovation space that Villes Au Carré addresses via La Part Citoyenne, though operating at a national rather than regional level.
• Intercommunalités de France: National association of French intercommunalities (EPCI). Operates in overlapping local-government and territorial development territory with Villes Au Carré's municipal and EPCI members.

Direct peers

• Fédération des Centres Sociaux: National federation of social centres that operates a regional Centre-Val de Loire federation partnered with Villes Au Carré on Écho Éco & CO. Structurally analogous: associative network, public-funded, animating local actors on social cohesion and priority neighbourhoods.
• Fédération des Acteurs de la Solidarité: National federation of social solidarity actors with a Centre-Val de Loire chapter that co-founded Écho Éco & CO with Villes Au Carré. Closely comparable mission (social cohesion in priority quartiers) and federated, publicly-funded operating model.
• Mouvement des Régies de quartier: National movement of neighbourhood enterprises (régies de quartier) with a regional Centre-Val de Loire chapter that is a co-founder of Écho Éco & CO alongside Villes Au Carré. Highly comparable: associative, quartier-focused, publicly-funded, animating local actors in Politique de la Ville territories.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/VillesAuCarre
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/villes-au-carr%C3%A9/?originalSubdomain=fr

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Villes Au Carré