Charrette - The Greenfield Tool Box

Charrette
Greenfield Tool Box
DESIGN
PROCESS.................. Public Consultation
IMPLEMENTATION
TOOL DESCRIPTION
A Charrette is a three-phase process for community planning that can be applied at the
regional scale, town centre or main street scale, and the neighbourhood scale. It is applicable
to planning projects ranging from urban infill to suburban retrofits to greenfield development.
The Charrette methodology is customizable, and is typically organized into three phases:
Charrette Preparation, the Charrette Event, and Plan Implementation.
A Charrette is:
Credit | Arapahoe Square Charrette
› Usually more, but no less than four consecutive days
› An open process that includes all interested parties
› A collaborative process involving all disciplines in a series of short feedback loops
› A process that produces a feasible plan
› A generalist, holistic approach
› Phase two in the three-phase dynamic planning process
Credit | L.Clapper
Tool Intent
A Charrette is a multiple-day
multidisciplinary collaborative
design workshop, as well as a
general project management
methodology for eliciting
feedback and approvals from
multiple stakeholders in an open
community planning process.
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A Charrette is not:
› A one-day workshop
› A multi-day marathon meeting involving all participants for the entire time
› A plan for many people created by a select few
› A “brainstorming session” that produces a plan but stops short of feasibility testing
A Three Phases of a Charrette
During Charrette Preparation, there are a number of tasks completed to support the Charrette
event. Overall, all necessary data is collected about the project, and experts and stakeholders
are identified and invited to participate. A day-by-day agenda for the Charrette event is
prepared and published, and all logistics are coordinated. Often additional Charrette agendas
are prepared for internal use, to schedule work time and interim deadlines for the design
team or technical experts. This preparation is often handled by a trained Charrette Manager.
USERS
Municipal Officials
Municipal Planning Staff
Planning + Design Professionals
Engineers
Land Developers
Landowners
Community Members
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Charrette
The Charrette event itself lasts for five to seven days, based on the complexity of the project
and the objectives of the event. At minimum, Charrettes should be four days. Articulating a
community vision, for example, can be accomplished with a four- or five-day event. More
complex objectives, such as street or open space standards, or zoning code amendments,
may require a longer event, likely up to seven days. For any Charrette event, three feedback
loops are optimal to maximize stakeholder understanding and support.
CASE STUDIES | BEST PRACTICES
Arapahoe Square Charrette
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In a typical Charrette, feedback loops are important, and events should be planned to
accommodate at least three complete loops to maximize stakeholder understanding and
support:
› The first loop is focused on articulating a community vision from stakeholder ideas,
typically contributed through a public workshop. The design and technical team responds
to these community ideas and develops alternative concepts over the next day.
› The second feedback loop starts with the presentation of these alternative concepts.
Public feedback on the alternatives is then gathered through another public workshop or
informal events such as an open house or focus groups with targeted stakeholders. The
design team responds this feedback and input, incorporating recommendations into a
preferred plan or concept.
› The third feedback loop starts with the presentation of the preferred plan, and on the last
day of the Charrette event, the final proposed plan is presented in a public setting.
During the final Plan Implementation phase, the plan is tested and refined by the Charrette
team. Communication with stakeholders continues, and the final plan is presented in a
public meeting no later than six weeks after the charrette. All three charrette phases are
summarized in a final project report for agency approval. Members of the Charrette team may
be retained to work with local jurisdiction staff to ensure that the resulting policies and plans
are faithful to the public vision articulated during the process.
Benefits
Charrettes save time and money by bringing all affected parties together for organized,
time-compressed work sessions. This can streamline the design and approvals process, and
planning that might normally take months or years can be completed in far less time.
Charrettes also create plans that are more complete, more financially feasible, and
more likely to be approved. By involving all stakeholders and providing an early focus on
engineering and finance, charrettes can address feasibility in a holistic way and increase the
probability for implementation.
Another advantage is that Charrettes build community capital and promote trust between
citizens and government. By involving a broad range of stakeholders instead of the typical
individuals or groups involved with planning projects, the process can be more accessible
and transparent to the public. This provides a forum for meaningful public involvement and
education.
By integrating all viewpoints throughout the design process and structuring uninterrupted,
focused design sessions based on shared guiding principles, Charrettes can result in
innovative, sustainable designs that meet a wide range of needs.
Location: Denver, Colorado
Project Size: 750 acres
Description: In January 2011, the City of Denver and the
Denver-based Downtown Denver Partnership, a Business
Improvement District (BID) non-profit, co-sponsored a five-day
charrette to focus on the languishing Arapahoe Square
District, elicit a community vision, generate “big ideas” and
jumpstart development. Arapahoe Square is a 750-acre
neighbourhood east of Denver’s central business district.
A regional transportation route has long dominated the
neighbourhood and divided adjacent downtown residential
neighbourhoods from Denver businesses. As a result, the
neighbourhood is characterized by surface parking lots,
vacant buildings and lots, and a concentration of social
service agencies that serve Denver’s homeless.
The National Charrette Institute (NCI), a non-profit organization
that provides charrette training, prepared the City of Denver
Planning and Design staff to conduct charrettes, and used the
Arapahoe Square Charrette as a test case. An experienced
charrette design team leader was retained to assemble and
manage the design team, and NCI facilitated the charrette;
however, with trained city staff managing the first and third
phases of the charrette and all event logistics, the cost of
hiring outside professionals was reduced. Active participation
by city staff increased the effectiveness of the training, and
gave staff charrette experience that they can be apply to
future planning efforts.
The professional design team developed two vision plan
concepts, in full cooperation with all stakeholder groups,
that addressed demands for economic development, parks
and open space, housing, jobs, and the design of social
service institutions to better integrate them into the area
without compromising their mission. Concepts confronted
the long-standing prioritization of commuter and freight
traffic routes through the area. Intensive workshops with
all government bureaus established a new approach going
forward: institutionalized collaboration to overcome traditional
obstacles to cooperative policy, planning, and design.
Charrette Manager / Design Team Leader: National
Charrette Institute and Urbsworks, Inc; design team made up
of individuals from JRA and SERA Architects
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Charrette
WHEN IN THE PROCESS IS IT USED
A Charrette is typically employed at the beginning of a project, during the early planning
stages. However, it can also be used to resolve a specific design, technical, or political issue
for a project that has already been planned and approved. Examples include charrettes for
decisions on special subdistricts or sensitive environmental areas, or for implementation tools
such as form-based codes.
WHO USES IT
For public projects, the Charrette process is often sponsored and organized by a local
government or non-governmental agency such as a citizen planning advocacy group. For
private developments, the Charrette process and event would usually be sponsored by the
developer.
One successful model for Charrettes, however, is joint sponsorship. A developer can initiate
a Charrette, select experts and a Charrette Manager, while the local government offers
staff support to guide public involvement and identification of stakeholders, and facilitates
entitlements and approvals during the Charrette and Implementation Phase.
CASE STUDIES | BEST PRACTICES
Damascus Area Design Charrette
Location: Damascus, Oregon
Project Size: Twenty-five square miles
Description: In 2002, two Portland region nonprofits, 1000
Friends of Oregon and the Coalition for a Livable Future,
co-sponsored a six-day charrette to generate urbanization
plans for a largely rural area southeast of the Portland
Metropolitan region that had been targeted for expansion of
the urban growth boundary (UGB). Called the Damascus Area
Community Design Workshop, the primary objective was to
demonstrate principles and specific growth strategies based
on an ecological urbanism approach that would create a
regional model for a “clean, green, affordable and fair UGB
expansion.”
The Charrette team was separated into three issue areas,
and called the Green Team, the Go Team and the Home Team.
The Green Team was charged with protecting and repairing
the natural systems and features of the area; the Go Team
was asked to look at the problem with a special emphasis
on transportation, and the Home Team was asked to focus
on community and neighbourhood design. After three days of
working independently, groups were combined and concepts
integrated. Final concepts recognized the ecological carrying
capacity of the site recommended the amount and location
of land that could be developed before natural systems (such
as salmon streams) were destroyed, creating a framework
for landscape preservation and development. Forested
buttes were protected, as were streams. Other features of
the recommended concepts include a 600 foot connectivity
standard for arterials and major streets, prototypical blocks
that would allow for various housing types, “green streets,”
built in conformance with Metro Regional Government’s
emerging “Green Streets” standard. The charrette was used
to offer a positive alternative in subsequent UGB expansion
planning and Metro legislation.
Charrette Manager / Design Team Leader: Patrick M.
Condon, PMC Associates, Vancouver B.C.
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Damacus Charrette Riparian Corridors Damacus Charrette After Plan Damacus Charrette Before Plan
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Charrette
LOCAL APPLICATIONS
Greenfield Case Study Charrette, Calgary
Mission Road Main Street Innovation Project,
Calgary
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The goal of the Greenfield Charrette was to engage stakeholders in identifying practical and viable greenfield design
strategies that meet the 11 Sustainabilitly Principles, and identify policy and process challenges and solutions
related to achieving those strategies. Toward this goal, the charrette team included representation from various City
departments, the development and building community, and related professional consultants. The charrette process
integrated the diverse perspectives and viewpoints of the collective expertise to generate creative solutions for
developing environmentally-, socially- and economically-sustainable new greenfield communities.
The Greenfield Charrette process included three preliminary workshops and the charrette event. The workshops
informed the generation of the charrette Decision Support Framework - the document that organizes the vision,
principles, goals and objectives, design-indicators and targets into a strategic structure that supports decisionmaking
throughout the charrette event.
Source | Greenfield Case Study Charrette Final Report, September 2008
http://www.calgary.ca/PDA/LUPP/Documents/Publications/plan-it-grnfld-case-study-charrette-sept.pdf
Source | http://missionroad.ca/
The Mission Road Main Street Innovation Project was the
first attempt for The City of Calgary to develop a SmartCode
regulatory framework to guide both private development and
the Mission Road right-of-way. The project was developed
through a collaborative process using the Charrette
three-phase process. 150-person attended multiple meeting
throughout the week-long planning workshop.
RELATED TOOLS
Visualizations
Visual Preference Survey
Build-Out Analysis
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
NCI National Charrette Institute (http://www.charretteinstitute.org/)
The National Charrette Institute (NCI) is an IRS 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational institution dedicated to teaching professionals and community leaders the NCI Charrette System.
Arapahoe Square Charrette (http://denvergov.org/cpd/Planning/PlansinProgress/NortheastDowntownNeighborhoodsPlan/ArapahoeSquareCharrette/tabid/438579/Default.aspx)
Charter of the New Urbanism (http://www.cnu.org/charter)
Condon, Patrick M. Design Charrettes for Sustainable Communities. 2007
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O2 Planning + Design Inc.