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What is a Charrette? Is it a tool that can be used for HOAs?
I was watching “The Best of Enemies” the other day. In the movie, the town holds a charrette because the school which educates all African American children burned down. The town wanted to desegregate schools and have all children attend school together. On the charrette committee was a Ku Klux Klan leader and a Civil Rights leader. This incredible movie is based on a true story. The two committee members end up being best friends and the Ku Klux Klan member ends up disavowing racism. So, what is a charrette? I had never heard the term or the concept before.
According to the dictionary, a charrette is “a meeting in which all stakeholders in a project attempt to resolve conflicts and map solutions.” I don’t know why this concept is not talked about more. Usually, a charrette is held when planning a project in a city, especially when the project is hotly contested. The charrette brings together municipal/city officials, residents, and developers. The concept was originally used as a way to quickly generate design solutions. Groups of people break into subgroups and then at the end of the meeting come together to finalize their ideas. It is meant to be a diverse collaboration and an innovative atmosphere. But, can this concept also be used for HOAs?
There are several websites that detail the structure of a charrette. Mostly it is an intense brainstorming session. One website, www.designorate.com, lays out the procedure for a charrette. First, you have to pick topics or problems (usually a charrette is used when there is more than one problem that needs to be discussed). Pick the groups/stakeholders that are involved. Break the group into subgroups and each subgroup designates a recorder (someone to writes the ideas down on paper). Divide the problems amongst the subgroups. Next, the subgroups discuss their ideas (about 20 minutes but can be as long as you want) while the recorder writes everything down. Then the recorders move from one subgroup to the next talking about the different ideas on their topic. The recorders then summarize the subgroup ideas. This step merges all of the ideas into a collective document. Last, the entire group meets together and discusses the topics and the result is an action plan for the next stage of the project. Cool right!?!
This can absolutely be used for HOAs. I did a little preliminary research and there are charrette courses!! Though, these courses are designed more for urban planning and development. I wonder if a course can be developed just for HOAs?? Hmmmm….I will look more into that. In the meantime, just the basic procedures can be used at monthly and annual meetings. Instead of projects that stall because of deep seeded conflict, the projects can progress with everyone’s input! I will definitely be writing more about this topic in the coming months as I learn more about it.