Community Design Charrette: Call for Proposals

charette-15Kent State University’s Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative is looking for a city, suburb, town, or neighborhood that is facing an urban design challenge and needs fresh ideas and perspectives. The CUDC will select one community to be the focus of an intensive community design charrette to be held in October of 2019.The ideal community partner will be a government agency or other vested stakeholder with the potential ability to realize some of the recommendations that emerge during the charrette process. The partner will also be responsible for basic food and lodging for approximately 30 students and staff over a 3-4 day charrette period. The CUDC will bring drawing supplies and expertise.The CUDC is accepting proposals from communities within about a three-hour radius of Cleveland, as highlighted on the map below. Any community--large or small--is welcome to submit a proposal for the charrette. Major cities are shown on the map for reference.cleveland_radius_charrette_citiesWhat is a Community Design Charrette?A charrette is an intensive, multi-day planning session where residents, local stakeholders, elected officials, designers collaborate on a vision for future development and public improvements. Recent charrettes have focused on the revitalization of Toledo’s Junction Neighborhood (executive summary and final slideshow); the removal and redevelopment of a section of the Akron Innerbelt; and public space and transportation improvements in Downtown Youngstown.The community design charrette is a rewarding experience for students who get an opportunity to tackle real-world design challenges and propose solutions. Our partner communities gain a wide range of design and planning ideas in a short and intense period of time.About the CUDCThe CUDC is the outreach division for the College of Architecture and Environmental Design at Kent State University. Based in downtown Cleveland, the professional staff of the CUDC work with communities throughout Northeast Ohio and beyond on a wide range of urban design and planning projects. The CUDC is co-located with the College’s graduate programs in urban design, landscape architecture, and architecture. The Community Design Charrette teams these graduate students with CUDC staff to to tackle a project proposed by a community partner.The CUDC partners with other design schools, including Lawrence Technological University’s College of Architecture and Design in Detroit, Ball State University’s Urban Design Center in Indianapolis, and the University at Buffalo to bring their graduate students to the selected community for the charrette.PROPOSALPlease send a proposal of no more than two pages, introducing your community its particular design challenges and opportunities, along with any other information to help us understand the needs of your community. Maps and photos are welcome, in addition to your two-page proposal. All proposal materials should be combined into a single PDF and emailed to cudc@kent.edu.TIMELINE

  • June 17, 2019: Deadline to submit your proposal
  • June 30, 2019: Selection of charrette community
  • Early-mid October, 2019: Community design charrette in selected community

  akron_charretteDELIVERABLES for the PARTNER COMMUNITYStudents and staff will produce a series of analytical drawings, diagrams, renderings, design guidelines, and other relevant planning & urban design graphics, to be presented to the community partner at the end of the Charrette period. Following the Charrette, CUDC staff will assemble the design proposals into a final report and presentation to be delivered to the community partner by the end of 2019.QUESTIONS?Contact the CUDC at cudc@kent.edu or 216.357.3434