NCI is proud to announce that we have been awarded a Federal Transit Administration (FTA) grant. NCI and Reconnecting America will partner to create the NCI Charrette System Guide for Transit Oriented Development (TOD). TODs are complex and challenging projects to plan and implement. Although much has been written on TOD case studies, as well as on particular tools for planning and public involvement, a comprehensive guide for planning a TOD using a multiple-day charrette does not exist. This grant supports the creation of the NCI Charrette System Guide for TODs, a scripted PowerPoint presentation based on the Guide, and the delivery of several free webinars.

Package Discount when you buy the NCI Charrette System: Stories of Community Transformation DVD and NCI Charrettes CD. These two companion pieces are invaluable for educating yourself and convincing others of the power of the NCI Charrette System™.

Save $8 + free shipping! Purchase both and save here.

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. Then allow participants be the experts for the evening by inviting them to tell you about their community. This is best accomplished with some type of small table exercise where people can map their community assets and draw their vision of what the place could look like twenty years in the future after the plan is in place. Before such an exercise, you should definitely give them some coaching, or “food for thought,” regarding principles of sustainable community planning. Starting a charrette with such a meeting will put you on the right foot with the community and allow you to move forward to create alternative concepts and eventually a preferred plan that is supported by all.

NCI is pleased to announce an exciting new partnership with the Centre for Sustainable Communities at the University of Hertfordshire (UH) in Hatfield, UK. The Centre will conduct an ongoing program offering the entire range of NCI trainings specifically adapted for practice in the UK, including local case studies.

The first training in this program is the three-day NCI Charrette System™ Certificate Training on October 6-8, 2009. This training will be conducted by NCI Director, Bill Lennertz, with assistance from UH faculty. The University faculty will begin offering to the public the complete set of NCI trainings beginning in the spring of 2010. NCI looks forward to this partnership to meet the overseas demand for trainings in the NCI Charrette System™.

The participation of children in charrettes is a hot topic at our trainings these days. At ASU last week we discussed these major benefits.

1. Kids can add important content. They are, of course, brutally honest and also quite smart about planning issues.
2. Their presentations can change the whole tenor of the charrette. Kids very often speak volumes about important values. Their honesty can raise the discussion to the level of values and guiding principles.
3. They might bring their parents to the charrette, especially if you make the project a school project.
4. They can serve as interpreters for parents who are not fluent in English.

These are just some of the benefits of including these stakeholders in planning their communities. What else are we missing? What have been your experiences with children in community planning processes?

1. Changing project users mindsets and preconceptions about sustainability is a prerequisite to implementing sustainable design projects in which users take ownership. Charrettes create an immersive, shared-learning environment that promotes a shift in mindsets.
2. Sustainable projects have a complex set of environmental, economic, and social variables plus a large, diverse set of stakeholders. The NCI Charrette System addresses these complexities by combining integrated design with a comprehensive community involvement process.

I had an interesting discussion with the students at our D.C. training this month. We were debating the trade-offs of workshops in which a select group of stakeholders participate in virtually the entire event participating in the design sessions elbow to elbow with the professional design team.

We talked about the obvious advantages of having a group of special stakeholders immersed with the design team. These people gain an in-depth understanding of the design as well as being true co-authors of the plan. My colleagues and NCI curriculum contributors, Sandy Wiggins and Jennifer Rezeli, use this method for their sustainable design charrettes. They find that this method is the most effective for “changing mindsets,” an essential goal of sustainable projects.

Although the NCI charrette model certainly does not preclude this approach, the method taught in our classes is different. In the NCI multiple-day charrette, stakeholders typically participate in a series of intermittent design session and reviews that are spaced over the multiple days. Primary stakeholders, decision makers and other gatekeepers are typically involved more than the general public but all have a chance to review and participate at key decision points. Community members may come to two or three evening meetings throughout the charrette, while agency staff may come to those plus two or more meetings during the day.
In D.C. we discussed how the first model assures a very well informed set of project champions while the second approach may result in broader, less in-depth education of a much larger group.

So the question is, does the first approach limit the potential for broad, long-term community support, or can this smaller group carry the message and the project?

Does the NCI intermittent meeting approach offer more opportunity for a broader community involvement while the continuous, immersed participation limits the potential for shared learning to those who can afford to take the time to participate full-time?

Perhaps the immersed approach lends itself to small projects like community centers or campus planning. In fact, I believe that Sandy and Jenn use the first approach for these types of projects. The intermittent NCI method may be best suited for larger community projects. Then, of course, there is the potential to do both, which I believe Sandy and Jenn have also done.

The other aspect of this discussion is the debate around delegated community participation practiced in Australia by Wendy Morris and Chip Kaufman and, I believe, espoused by Andres Duany versus the open model.
I welcome a vigorous discussion about these differing approaches.

Form-Based Codes Institute’s Courses
FBC 101: Introduction to Form-Based Coding
-June 2009, Denver, CO (special one-day course at CNU)

FBC 201: Preparing a Form-Based Code – Design Considerations
-May 18-19, 2009, Lansing, MI

 FBC 301: Completing, Adopting and Administering the Code
- June 13-14, 2009, Lansing, MI  

 To learn more about these courses visit the FBCI website. 

Smart Growth School Upcoming Courses
SGS 101: The Situation – Smart Growth Basics
- July 22-24, 2009, San Francisco, CA

SGS 201: The Solution – Smart Growth Codes
- May 20-22, 2009, San Francisco, CA

SGS 301: The Law – Smart Growth Administration & Implementation
- Sept. 23-25, 2009, San Francisco, CA

For more information, including registration please visit the SGS website. 

NCI Charrette System™ Certificate Trainings

This 3-day NCI training teaches the tools and techniques for planning and running a successful project using a charrette. The NCI Charrette System™ training is ideal for planners and designers and developers specializing in sustainable development, transportation, public works, and transit as well as citizen advocacy.

- May 27-29 Phoenix, AZ at Arizona State University

- May 27-29 Olds College, Olds, Alberta, Canada

- July 13-15 Portland, OR

NCI Charrette Management and Facilitation™ Certificate Trainings

This 1.5-day, advanced training will equip charrette managers with the essential tools and techniques required to manage a fast-paced, and constantly changing, multiple day charrette. Participants learn the essentials of detailed day-to-day charrette management along with the indispensable skills of public meeting planning and facilitation.

- July 16-17 Portland, OR

For more information on NCI’s upcoming trainings visit our training web page.

Earn up to 27 AICP CM credits and AIA CES units for the NCI Charrette System™ Certificate Training and NCI Charrette Management and Facilitation™ Certificate Training.

How can visualization, computer mapping, and collaborative networking tools increase the effectiveness of charrettes for transforming communities? Bill Lennertz from NCI and Jocelyn Hittle from PlaceMatters will provide a hands-on training with tech tools intertwined with traditional charrette techniques on June 10, in  Denver, CO. Register here.