Free Technical Assistance Available from NCI and Other Organizations NCI is a technical assistance provider working through a grant to the Project for Public Spaces from US EPA’s Office of Sustainable Communities under their Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities Program. This grant makes it possible for us and our partners at the newly formed coalition, [...]

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By Bill Lennertz for Planning magazine, October 2011 There is a saying that a charrette will succeed so long as people show up. Unfortunately, that’s easier said than done because planners have always struggled to fill public meetings with people who represent all community viewpoints. Now new tools and strategies are getting a good result [...]

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How social media and web-based tools are increasing the capacity for involvement. Register now: https://shop.charretteinstitute.org/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=WEB4-11 October 12, 2011, 10:00-11:30 am PDT (1:00-2:30 pm EDT) Note: after live webinar date a recording will be available Overview The range of interactive planning software and social networking media is dizzying. This webinar will show how planners are using [...]

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Excerpted from an article in the NCI 2007 Best Practices Report By Debra Hempel, AICP Community Planning & Urban Design Manager, HDR, Inc. A Schedule that Fits the Community When setting up the charrette schedule, it is important to determine project issues and community concerns in order to identify and prioritize meetings. My approach to [...]

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How to Facilitate a Large Group Agreement Quickly Quick agreement is needed during the visioning exercise that often occurs during the first public meeting of a charrette. Participants are seated in groups of no more than eight people per table. Each table has a facilitator and recorder. During this exercise, each table creates a long [...]

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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. [...]

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Here is an excerpt from a great article written by NCI alumni, Susan H. Cipperly, also a 2007 Irving Hand Professional Development Award Recipient “One thing I have been aware of during my career as a planner is that unless a comprehensive plan is created with the active involvement of community representatives and government officials, it [...]

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When Simsbury River Oaks, a mixed-use development that included a 129,000-square-foot big box-store, was proposed three years ago many residents were taken by surprise.  They’re putting a Target where?  Surprise turned to anger.  The project drew considerable opposition.  Click on this link to see how holding a charrette helped this community and to read the [...]

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Tips for presenting to large audiences: 1. Use a large screen Have you ever been to a presentation where 60 or more people are forced to look at one of those wobbly 3-legged, 8-foot-wide screens? You know the ones that always have creases in them? If your presentation is worth showing then it is worth [...]

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By Bill Lennertz, AIA Last week I conducted an in-house training with Dan Burden, a seasoned charrette veteran with the consulting firm Glatting Jackson. Dan proposed what was to me a radical idea: let the people facilitate themselves. Dan regularly runs small table exercises at public meetings like the ones described in previous NCI newsletters. [...]

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