The French word, "Charrette" means "cart" and is often used to describe the final, intense work effort expended by architecture students to meet a project deadline. This use of the term is said to originate from the École des Beaux Arts in Paris during the 19th century, where teachers circulated a cart, or "charrette", to collect final drawings while students frantically put finishing touches on their work. What is a New Urbanist Design Charrette? - An open process that includes all interested parties - A collaborative process involving all disciplines - A process that produces a feasible plan Our Charrette combines this creative, intense work session with public workshops and open houses. Its an intense collaborative planning process that harnesses the talents and energies of all interested parties. We bring it a team of professionals experienced in the Town Planning disciple to create and support a feasible plan that represents transformative community change. The workflow of the Charrette involves a series of design sessions and public input cycles for multiple, consecutive days. All interested parties are invited at scheduled intervals: the city planner, fire department, public works, planning and zoning, council members, and local business owners. Stakeholders in the community become aware of the complexities of development and design issues, and everyone works together to arrive at the best possible solution. They are also welcome to visit the Charrette Studio site throughout the Charrette during open hours. In this way, it does not consume large blocks of time for residents or officials. This input is used to refine the alternatives and create more detailed plans that are again reviewed and critiqued by the public during an open house. The design team further refines and narrows the feedback into a final plan and set of implementation documents to be presented for public confirmation on the final night of the Charrette. Benefits a Charrette: Conventional approaches to the public approval process are failing. Even high quality architectural and planning projects with demonstrable public benefit may lose support without a collaborative approach. The public design Charrette has emerged as an alternative to the "design and present" convention. Charrettes provide a framework for creating a shared vision with community involvement, directed by consultants representing all key disciplines. It is important to note that the project is not complete when the Charrette is over. Plan refinement and further feedback occur through discussions and a follow-up meeting approximately a month after the Charrette. This allows everyone to check in on the refined Charrette plan and to allow for one final review and comment.