Excerpted from the NCI 2005 Best Practices Report By Jennifer K. Lindbom, AICP “If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.” – Henry Ford The places and spaces we seek to create as architects, planners, and design professionals exist for the people that inhabit, work in, transit through, or enjoy them. [...]
Entries Tagged as 'Charrette Preparation'
Engaging the Public 101
March 16th, 2010 · Comments Off
Categories: Charrette Preparation · Communications/PR · NCI Best Practices Report · NCI Publications/Resources · Public Participation · Stakeholders
Tip: How to Start a Charrette
September 16th, 2009 · Comments Off
It may seem basic, but the most important thing to tell a community the first time you meet them is that you haven’t started the design yet. In the first charrette meeting, the message should be that you are there to tell people about the project, and to hear about what is important to them. [...]
Categories: Charrette Preparation · Public Meetings
NCI Charrette System Documentary DVD Now Available
May 7th, 2009 · Comments Off
People say that you can’t really understand what a charrette does unless you have seen one in action. The NCI Charrette System: Stories of Community Transformation DVD is the next best thing to being there. This DVD places you into key moments within the seven-day East Fort Myers, FL charrette. Hear what participants are saying before and after the [...]
Categories: Benefits of Charrettes · Charrette Organization and Management · Charrette Preparation · NCI Publications/Resources
How do you convince a project sponsor to use a charrette? A new option is to use the NCI Charrette System DVD.
May 6th, 2009 · Comments Off
Honestly, it can sometimes be a challenge to convince a project sponsor to use a charrette. First you may need to redefine the term. People in the community planning and development world use the word charrette very loosely. To some it may mean a one-hour meeting while to others is means a week-long event. One [...]
Categories: Benefits of Charrettes · Charrette Organization and Management · Charrette Preparation · NCI Publications/Resources · Public Participation
Pre-charrette education for sustainable projects
May 5th, 2009 · Comments Off
Sustainability planning requires an extra effort to educate stakeholders before the charrette. The techniques and issues related to sustainability are often too numerous and too complex to deal solely within the charrette. Waiting until the charrette to start a community conversation about sustainability can leave you with a steep learning curve that can consume valuable [...]
Categories: Benefits of Charrettes · Charrette Organization and Management · Charrette Preparation · Public Participation
Fatal Flaws: Charrette Studio Locations
January 15th, 2009 · Comments Off
Excerpts from the NCI Charrette Management and Facilitation Training A successful charrette depends on efficient operations. It can be very distracting and a drain on the team’s energy to be dealing with operational breakdowns like blown fuse boxes, slow internet providers, or lack of air conditioning. It may sound obvious, but there are numerous examples [...]
Categories: Charrette Organization and Management · Charrette Preparation · Trainings/Events
Charrettes for the New (Depressed) Economy
December 17th, 2008 · Comments Off
Of all the arguments for using the charrette method, none comes into sharper focus in times like these than the bang-for-the-buck advantage. Well-planned, well-managed charrettes can save both public and private sector clients a ton of time and money. But here’s the hitch: To realize the savings, clients have to take on more responsibility in [...]
Categories: Benefits of Charrettes · Charrette Organization and Management · Charrette Preparation · Communications/PR · Consultant Needed · Public Participation · Stakeholders · Trainings/Events
Gaining the Trust of Community Members
December 15th, 2008 · Comments Off
One of our largest challenges may be gaining the trust of community members. Without trust, consensus is unlikely. In order to address communities’ distrust of public involvement, we should design the Charrette as an open, transparent, and targeted process that responds to the capacities, conditions, and dynamics within the community. Open means inclusive, non-judgmental, and [...]
Categories: Charrette Preparation · Public Participation
How and at what juncture are construction budgets generally developed for a project design charrette?
July 28th, 2008 · 1 Comment
NCI recently received this inquiry by email. We thought the answer would be useful for others visiting this website. The answer depends on the scope of the charrette, however, budgets should always be considered early on. A major goal of the charrette and NCI Dynamic Planning is to reduce rework. This usually means that budgets [...]
Categories: Charrette Preparation
Tip of the Month: Budget slashed? Try running your own charrette
July 21st, 2008 · Comments Off
In response to shrinking project budgets, more and more planning agencies are developing the in-house capacity to conduct charrettes. Director of Fayetteville Long Range Planning, Karen Minkel, has assembled a staff of planners and designers who possess the diverse talents from both planning and design disciplines necessary to run a community charrette. Last year, Karen [...]
Categories: Benefits of Charrettes · Charrette Preparation





