Using the NCI Charrette process for applied research, teaching and practice to create Sustainable Urban Environments

Holly Madill, National Charrette Institute
Linda Nubani, Michigan State University
Kristy Kellom, Michigan State University
Jennifer Hurley, AICP, CNU-A, PP, Hurley-Franks & Associates

Learning Objectives

• After attending this, the attendees will be able to describe the basics of a NCI charrette process and how it can be used to build trust and foster sustainable community change at any scale.
  
• After attending this, the attendees will be able to apply lessons learned from previous charrettes to real world projects and applied research.
  
• After attending this, the attendees will be able to understand and practice active engagement techniques that energize participants.
  
• After attending this, the attendees will be able to understand how to use the NCI Charrette in applied research projects and have an opportunity to flesh out ideas.

Session Abstract

Environmental design, design-thinking and charrettes have gone hand-in-hand for decades. What is newer is considering the charrette process for applied research and practice. The NCI Charrette System encourages a multi-disciplinary, collaborative design approach for embedding stakeholders, decision-makers, and experts in co-creating sustainable solutions to built environment problems including many of the topics that the 2019 conference theme of Sustainable Urban Environments addresses including

• Cities, Urban Environments and Globalization
  
• Global Climate Change: Attitudes, Behavior, Design and Advocacy
  
• Participatory and Evidence-Based Strategies for Sustainable Design
  
• Place-making: Personal, Social and Cultural Meanings of Space
  
• Environmental Design and Human Well Being
  
• Resilient Community Planning and Design
  
• Housing Design, Experience and Policy
  

During this half-day intensive, attendees will learn how collaboration by design is transforming urban centers globally. Participants will explore how to use the charrette process in applied, participatory research and projects, as well as incorporating it into curriculum. After learning about the NCI Charrette System and how it activates the unique creative potential of all stakeholders by embedding them in the design process to co-create a transformative plan, participants will hear from panelists who have successfully included charrette approaches in conference planning; applied, participatory research; projects and teaching. Participants will be given reflective time to consider how to incorporate charrettes into their own research, practice, and teaching.

Using the NCI Charrette Process for Applied Research, Teaching and Practice to Create Sustainable Urban Environments

Holly Madill

There are plenty of definitions available on what a charrette is, each varying from another. This session will differentiate between design charrettes and a NCI charrette. An overview of the NCI Charrette process will be provided and explain how they are used to break down barriers in often complicated and heated community settings. The NCI charrette method uses collaborative design-thinking to activate the creative potential of all stakeholders by embedding them in the design process to co-create a transformative plan or policy. This unique public engagement approach is highly adaptable to many public situations involving large diverse groups and is suitable for all ages. Several examples of how NCI charrettes helped communities achieve transformation in a complex, political environment will be offered as case studies. She'll then explore how charrettes and principles of charrettes can be used more broadly to address non-design, non-built environment issues such as public policy questions and strategic planning efforts. The session will also explain how charrette principles were used in a recent NSF-funded conference on Autonomous Vehicles to help researchers organize and flesh out research ideas and co-develop a white paper and how to incorporate the NCI Charrette System course into curriculum and build upon it to enhance students learning and experience.

How to Conduct Participatory Research within a Virtual Setting

Holly Madill1, Linda Nubani, and Kristy Kellom

Few disadvantages have been reported with the use of focus groups in comparison to other types of participatory research methods. Examples include the possible bias of the facilitator, limited depth in data produced, and unexpected conflicts among participants. This presentation discusses the use of focus groups in virtually immersive environments. The National Charrette Institute was recruited to facilitate two focus groups that support an ongoing research by a graduate student at Michigan State University. The aim of her thesis is to generate themes, categories and attributes that may support or hinder executing the FBI-endorsed active shooter training "RUN, HIDE, FIGHT" in university classrooms. Not only is this study the first of its kind, but immersing the participants of the focus groups in 1:1 scale virtual environment is also new. This presentation discusses the strategies used in the two focus groups, challenges met in the first focus group and addressed in the second focus group, and the scripts designed to maximize engagement and interaction among participants and avoid any unanticipated conflicts. Results of this presentation will provide the audience with step by step recommendations that future researchers can use to produce reliable data from a small number of participants in a short time.

How to Conduct Participatory Projects Using the NCI Charrette Process

Jennifer Hurley

This session presents how to adapt NCI charrette principles to various conditions and settings, including non-design strategic planning, public policy, and program development. The author will bring multiple tools for implementing elements of the NCI method, including tools for identifying and reaching stakeholders, ways to engage participants in design without drawing, and tools for program analysis and development. Each of these ideas for adapting principles and tools for implementation will be illustrated with real world examples.