"The etymology of the term 'charrette' begins with the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Architecture students completing submissions for the famous Grand Prix de Rome, as well as for other less prestigious competitions, often had to work day and night to meet their deadline. When the small cart or charrette came through the city streets to pick up drawings and take them to judges, students would often jump on with their drawings and feverishly complete them in the charrette. Thus, in the architectural profession, to be en charrette has come to mean working under intense time pressure to complete a design. The Planning charrette evolved from these architectural roots[.] "¹

"Project design and community planning have become increasingly complex processes. The charrette format puts all concerns on the table at the beginning of the process, with all key players involved. It enables them to devise a wide range of alternative solutions by looking at all relevant issues at once. This integrative approach to problem solving [. . . ] is well-suited to dealing with the complexity and unpredictability that accompanies creative problem solving. "²

"The synergy that results from an intense period of collaboration makes the charrette an excellent tool for achieving specific goals in planning  and design. It is very much in tune with the spirit of recent innovations in management practice, emphasizing collaboration, consensus, teamwork, and improvisation rather than hierarchy, authority, standard procedures, and rules. Charrettes bring professionals closer to their 'customer,' whether that customer is a developer doing a project or a community choosing its future."³ 
 

1,2 & 3. Joel S. Russell with Andrew Meyers, Planning Charrettes,  PAS Memo, August 1995.