The Local Government Commission conducts multiple day charrettes to assist with community visioning and planning. Our charrette process includes a series of meetings, workshops, walk audits and design sessions in a concentrated period of time that engages stakeholders and residents in identifying problems and developing solutions. We assemble a multidisciplinary planning and design team based on the local factors and needs of the planning area. We’ve conducted charrettes in over 35 communities throughout California to address a range of planning and design issues, including pedestrian and bicycle safety; street design; traffic calming; neighborhood, downtown and corridor revitalization; Safe Routes to School and strategies for new development.
Community partnership and public participation is embedded in every step of the process. Residents work with the design team to identify solutions in the project area. Numerous opportunities are provided to participate in a fun, non-intimidating environment. The premise of a design charrette is that the people who live, work, and go to school in a community are the experts on what works and what doesn’t. The function of the design team is to first facilitate and listen to the public, and second to distill a common vision and design solution. Community input is gathered in a number of ways:
- The design team works closely with an advisory group representing key stakeholder groups. Participants typically include agency staff, businesses, community service organizations, schools and other representatives.
- Small focus group meetings are conducted with interest groups in a setting where they are able to inform the design team with candid input. The meetings also provide an opportunity to reach stakeholders who might otherwise not participate or be heard in the process due to cultural or language barriers.
- Dynamic and knowledgeable facilitators provide presentations to inspire people with ideas , strategies, examples and success stories from similar communities.
- Field condition inventories (walkability audits) are conducted during which participants walk through the project area with walkable communities experts to identify strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities.
- Participants work at design tables with their neighbors and write and draw ideas for improving safety, access, walking, bicycling and transit in their community. Using maps, pencils, markers, and good communication, the public can come up with solutions to complicated issues.
We work closely with staff and community partners to conduct outreach to the entire community. Multilingual flyers/mailers promoting the charrette events are distributed to residences and sent home with school children. Invitations and announcements are sent to the various stakeholders in the community: business owners, elected officials, community-based organizations, faith-based organizations, school district officials and staff, property owners and the media. Our multi-disciplinary team will work together in the months that follow to produce a report that covers the public process and resulting vision and recommendations illustrated with numerous drawings, photo simulations and photographs.