Adam Johnson

Date of Award

2021

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Gorup, Michael

Area of Concentration

Sociology and Political Science

Abstract

The charrette is a participatory design tool for urban planners in which community members and experts deliberate over 4–7 days in design feedback loops, culminating in an actionable design plan. This in-depth proactive collaboration is in stark contrast to the typical public participation process, in which public hearings are often overrun by unrepresentative neighborhood opposition. Aiming towards a consensus between planners and residents, the charrette could be understood as a deliberative democratic forum that should result in greater community satisfac-tion with both the process and final design. However, while the charrette has had substantial use in the field it has not been the subject of much research that could back up this view. To test how democratic the charrette is, I conduct a content analysis comparing the public hearing comments regarding a charrette and non-charrette development proposal on the same property with similar designs. The proposals’ matching characteristics isolate the effect of the charrette. Results show the charrette proposal saw a greater proportion of approving comments than the non-charrette proposal, especially when comparing speakers who did and did not participate in the charrette. Most comments for both proposals were still in opposition, however, even as the charrette proposal garnered high approval at the charrette itself. This calls into question the quality of the charrette’s deliberation as well as the relationship between the charrette and the public hearing.

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