The Delta Visioning charrette is a two-day group workshop in which numerous stakeholders assemble in person to develop spatially explicit alternative visions of the future of the Delta. It is not an open-ended brainstorming session but a focused, professionally facilitated, and analytical scenario-generation exercise. The primary end product will be a map that illustrates a potential future for the Delta under various assumed conditions.

The Delta Vision Process (DVP) being undertaken by the state will benefit greatly from having a specific spatial scenario that can form the basis for discussion and planning of the Delta's future. Spatial scenarios – real lines on a map – focus attention on specific planning opportunities and dilemmas in ways that years of report writing can never do. Rather than representing any final plan however, the product of the charrette depicts a possible outcome that helps stake holders visualize the consequences of various decisions. This allows ongoing dialogue among agencies, interest groups and stakeholders to proceed with reference to specific places, ideas and outcomes, rather than abstract principles. Any consensus that is ultimately reached on this basis is likely to be more enduring and politically robust.

Principal Investigator:
Matt Kondolf

Contact Information:
Fax: 510.643.6166
Email: kondolf@berkeley.edu

Funding Information:
California Department of Water Resources

Start Date: 10/01/06