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Memphis, TN. - As a part of the Unified Development Code that the Memphis and Shelby County Division of Planning and Development is undertaking in collaboration with its consultant Duncan Associates for the City of Memphis and unincorporated Shelby County, a master plan and form based code charrette is being planned for the Broad Avenue Corridor. The boundaries for the charrette are generally Summer Avenue on the north, Harvard Avenue on the south, East Parkway North on the west and the railroad on the east.
Ferrell Madden Associates, a Washington, D.C. based urban design and planning consultant, and the Memphis and Shelby County Division of Planning and Development will conduct a public participation design charrette that is open to the general public. Charrette activities begin Friday night, January 27 and conclude Thursday night, February 2, 2006. The public participation design charrette is an intensive community-based planning forum that brings together City residents, local stakeholders, business people, and government officials to collectively craft a vision for Greater Broad Street Area. The charrette format encourages individual involvement in a creative and non-threatening manner.
The charrette will begin with an introductory presentation on Friday evening, January 27 followed by discussion. Saturday morning beginning at 9 AM, participants will gather around tables in small groups with a team facilitator and identify important issues. Group issues will be drawn or written onto large scale base maps of the area. At the conclusion of this session, a spokesperson from each table will present their table's findings before the larger group. These presentations permit participants to share their common goals as well as provide an opportunity for in-depth discussion of particular issues or concerns. The public participation design element will last until 2-3 PM depending on the number of participants that attend, and lunch will be provided.
During the following week, the charrette team will assemble all citizen input into a draft master plan to provide a clear physical framework for the future. This master plan will be presented to the community on Thursday evening, February 2 as a work-in-progress. The feedback received that evening will be incorporated into the final plan.
Public participation charrettes have unequaled effectiveness in identifying and focusing citizen participation. As participants see their ideas incorporated into the plan, they recognize their concerns are being addressed and take shape ownership in the design. Participants also see their desires for their community are remarkably similar to other local residents. Ultimately, stakeholder involvement and ownership will make the adoption and implementation of the plan more feasible.
The Division of Planning and Development is working to complete final arrangements for the charrette and will provide further details as they become available on the charrette website at www.dpd.duncanplan.com/fbc.
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