ONNA RESEARCH + DESIGN


DELFT, NL | WORLDWIDE
Location: Boston, MA, USAType: AcademicProject completed for: Dr. Brian Helmuth, Northeastern UniversityRole + Contribution: Creator, Lead PresenterDate: 2017

CHELSEA CREEK DESIGN CHARETTE AND URBAN PORT DESIGN GAME

The Chelsea Creek Design Charette is an original applied stakeholder game that focuses on Chelsea Creek, MA, USA. Developed as a teaching tool to help illustrate the complexity involved in making design decisions about the urban shoreline, rounds have been played with undergraduate + graduate classes at Northeastern University, in groups of 8-20 students.

MEET THE STAKEHOLDER GROUPS.

Working to represent the diversity of stakeholder interests from climate change preparedness to port operations, four stakeholder groups were developed and assigned to teams of 3-4 players. They are as follows:

The Chelsea Climate Preparedness Task Force
The Chelsea Creek Business Association
The Chelsea River Watershed Association www.mysticriver.org

PLANNING AND STAKEHOLDER NEGOTIATION.

Players must consider social and environmental conditions, climate change projections, and development constraints, and negotiate with each other to find a plan that addresses the broad range of ecological, economic and socio-technical concerns within the local and regional landscape in the context of climate change and resilience planning. Groups then present their individual plans to the other stakeholders, highlighting the benefits their plan will provide to support not only their agenda, but the whole community.

PRESENT A UNIFIED PLAN FOR REDESIGN.

After negotiating as a whole community, stakeholder groups must present a new, unified plan to the Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management Office that maximizes benefits for Chelsea’s community, economy and environment. Representatives from each stakeholder group join the presentation team and defend the collaborative plan, mentioning trade-offs and how the plan addresses at least a part of each stakeholder group’s priorities.

DEBRIEF DISCUSSION FOLLOWING GAME PLAY.

Afterward, during the debrief, questions about feasibility commonly arise - enabling an important discussion about the ways in which policy and urban planning shape communities and culture.

Special thanks

Dr. Brian Helmuth