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re:Streets Charrette

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The re:Streets charrette took place on July 21-23, 2011. A multi-disciplinary group of over 100 professionals from both the public and private sectors worked together on specific topics relating to re-envisioning the American street. Each working group developed design solutions for one of the following topics:

  • Mobility and Access
  • Events and Programming

  • Social Gathering

  • Play and Recreation

  • Wayfinding

  • Green Infrastructure

  • Urban Agriculture

  • Commerce

  • Image and Identity

Charrette participants were tasked with finding solutions to design questions such as:

  • What if the vehicles we drove only used a five foot wide roadway?
  • What if the street lanes could be digitally changed from directing traffic to being a basketball court?
  • What if the power from vehicular movement could be stored under the roadway to light up the street or show movies on buildings?
  • What if streets treated pollutants and grew food?
  • What if America could reclaim its public realm for community gathering?
  • What if vendors could plug into the power grid on the street to make buying and selling more situational?

The charrette was structured to push participants' thinking and creativity beyond the current best practices. Each working group was aided by two professional facilitators to critique and build design concepts and solutions. The charrette utilized information from real streets in major American cities as examples so participants could create prototype designs for the different topics and settings.

The solutions developed during the charrette will be refined and developed into an interactive digital manual, scheduled for completion in 2012.