Charrettes engage citizens in envisioning new possibilities for their communities. They foster the collaboration, creativity, and consensus necessary to define a vision shared by citizens, officials, developers, and other stakeholders. The Charrette Handbook is a step-by-step guide to a successful charrette. Based on the NCI Charrette Planner certification training curriculum developed by the National Charrette Institute, the book offers practical tips on everything from pre-charrette preparations to project implementation. With handy charts and easy-to-follow examples, the handbook is an invaluable how-to manual for anyone organizing a charrette.

The Charrette Handbook is a step-by-step guide to successful charrettes -- those extended exercises that help citizens envision new possibilities for their communities. Based on a program developed by the National Charrette Institute, the book offers a three-phase approach to project management, describing how to organize for a charrette, how to conduct one, and how to put the resulting ideas into effect. The section on preparation has been extensively overhauled for this edition.

The purpose of this handbook is to furnish guidance for planning and conducting a 'high-performance building' charrette, sometimes called a 'greening charrette.' The handbook answers typical questions that will arise, such as 'What is a charrette?' 'Why conduct a charrette?' 'What topics should we cover during the charrette?' and 'Whom should we invite?' It also contains samples of agendas,invitation letters, and other commonly used charrette materials. This handbook also outlines the characteristics of a good charrette facilitator. It gives suggestions for the types of experts to invite to the event to motivate participants and answer their questions. The handbook includes sample presentations that can be used by these experts to ensure they address the required technical content. It suggests the types of participants, including technical, political, and community representatives, to invite to the charrette. It offers advice for forming effective breakout groups to ensure that a broad range of complementary expertise is represented in each group. We have also included guidance on how best to include key decision makers and stakeholders who are able to attend onlyportions of the event.

Based on Urban Design Associates’ in-house training procedures, this unique handbook details the techniques and working methods of a major urban design and planning firm. Covering the process from basic principles to developed designs, the book outlines the range of project types and services that urban designers can offer and sets out a set of general operating guidelines and procedures for: Developing a master plan, including techniques for engaging citizens in the design process and technical analysis to evaluate the physical form of the neighborhood, centered on a design charrette with public participation; Preparing a pattern book to guide residential construction in a new traditional town, including the documentation of architectural and urban precedents in a form that can be used by architects and builders; Implementing contextual architectural design, including methods of applying the essential qualities of traditional architecture in many styles to modern programs and construction techniques. This invaluable guide offers an introductory course in urbanism as well as an operations manual for architects, planners, developers, and public officials.