What is a Charrette?
A charrette is an inclusive, creative, collaborative planning process that brings together a project sponsor, a multidisciplinary team of experts, and stakeholders to establish a shared vision and build consensus around a feasible plan of action. A charrette typically compresses discussion, decision-making and design into a focused and efficient process that lasts between four and seven days, during the course of which the stakeholders work together to identify shared values and principles and turn them into real designs. Although the charrette is based on collaborative and design-oriented approaches to problem solving commonly associated with architecture, charrettes can be used to create everything from detailed plans for a specific site to broad policies that direct the future of a region. They have become an important tool for empowering people to take direct and active responsibility for solving problems, shaping the quality and character of the places where they live, and determi
