WCEL > Issues > Urban Growth and Development > Smart Bylaws Guide > Part 1 > Integrated Planning > Charrettes

Smart Bylaws Guide – Charrettes

Several municipalities are using design charrettes to design and plan new urban villages and revitalize older areas. A charrette, or an architectural brainstorm, usually takes the form of a workshop with community members, municipal staff and consultants.  As a two- to five-day process, it is used to develop plans and designs for a specific area to address complex land use issues.  Municipalities are using the results of design charrettes as another more fine grained aspect of municipal planning.  Titled “action plans” or “neighbourhood plans”, they provide detailed guidelines for future development that are supported by a variety of community stakeholders.  Charrettes can also be directed by smart growth goals (see the Surrey and Brentwood examples below).

What is a charrette design?

A charrette is an intense effort to solve any architectural problem within a limited time.  Design and architecture specialists listen to community members, business owners, municipal staff and others about the problems facing a specific area (from a town to a neighbourhood or intersection), and what the goals are for that area.  The charrette design team then works quickly to produce a series of designs that show how the area could be transformed to meet the variety of goals expressed by participants.   

Charrettes use a collaborative atmosphere where all goals and values are taken into account and turned into tangible pictures.  The inclusion of all perspectives results in realistic and tangible proposals. 

Examples of Design Charrettes

British Columbia

Sustainable Urban Landscapes: The Surrey Design Charrette 

Sustainable Urban Landscapes: The Brentwood Design Charrette

Smart Growth on the Ground:  Maple Ridge Charrette

Smart Growth on the Ground:  Squamish Charrette 

Smart Growth on the Ground:  Greater Oliver Charrette

Britannia Beach Community Visioning Charrette 

Burnaby Mountain Community Design Charrette 

Southeast False Creek Charrette Synopsis

Regional Design Charrette - "Super Saturday" Design Charrette for Greater Vancouver (Saturday, June 17, 2006) 

Green Buildings Design Charrettes

Green Building Design Charrette

Sustainable Buildings Design Charrette 

Other

TREES Design Charrette 

Living With Water: The Environmental Design Charrette