Blog One- My Interests in Taking Rules of Engagement

My interest in taking Rules of Engagement lies primarily in the fact that, as a student of city planning, I feel that it is essential to gain real life experience in the art of hosting a charrette. Community interaction and participation is a fundamental part of the planning process through which the planner discovers the true interests and desires of the community as a whole and can make decisions that will be most beneficial to the people of the community. In addition, charrettes may provide the planner with key knowledge of the interests of the minority and the less represented groups among the community. Although the importance of charretting and community input is made known to the planning students, there are few opportunities to actually take part in hosting a charrette in our curriculum.

In addition to learning the skills involved with charretting, I am looking forward to interacting with the people of Bamberg to affect change in their community. It seems as though the City of Bamberg has some historic infrastructure in the downtown area that they are interested in preserving and possibly reusing. The city’s website boasts of beautiful historic homes and some of the best public schools in the state, as well as being a great place for families, retirees, and industry. Additionally, Bamberg City Council’s mission is to enhance the city’s beauty, business opportunities, and overall quality of life. I hope that our project will assist the city in their mission.

One concern I do have, however, is that while I am interested in interacting with the people of Bamberg, especially those groups that tend to be more marginalized, I hope that they will be interested in interacting with us and willing to participate in our ‘school project’. Marginalized groups, especially those in rural communities, tend to have a history of being promised progress and then, in the end, there is nothing to show for it. As public participation is a key element for the success of our plan, I hope that a diverse group of the community members responds positively to our mission.