Civic Voice, the umbrella arm of local civic movements, has issued a new document ‘Collaborative Planning for All’ calling on those involved in the development process to make better use of community collaboration, with a ‘Participation not consultation’ approach using tools such a charrettes to bring better results for everyone.
Civic Voice writes:
It is time to change the way things are done and to bring communities genuinely to the heart of planning and place-making. ‘Participation not Consultation’ is about bringing people in at an early stage to develop the proposals through collaborative planning processes, also known as Charrettes.
The Charrette approach involves community members working alongside local authorities and developers to co-create design-led, visual plans and strategies. It is an inspirational and energising activity where the results of collaboration are seen immediately, with the knowledge that an individual’s input actually matters. It also has the potential to greatly increase the speed of the formal planning and design process.’ (foreword, p3)
Case studies from London, Wick, Scarborough and Surrey are featured, as well as examples of how charettes can be carried out and comments on how they have been useful for communities and professionals.
