WCU Studio
Multiple topic
meetings

Cashiers
Multiple topic
meetings

Cowee
Multiple topic
meetings

Click here for
complete schedules

CULLOWHEE, NC, May 16, 2008 – Like Wednesday’s opening day of the MLI “Toolbox” charrette, Thursday’s discussions at the event’s informal design studio at Western Carolina University attracted a crowd.

More than 50 people attended a morning session devoted to issues surrounding farmland preservation and local food networks led by Gerry Cohn of the American Farmland Trust and Andrew Branan of the North Carolina Farmland Transition Network.

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The discussions couldn’t be more topical for many in North Carolina’s far western counties, where agricultural traditions remain strong despite vanishing farmland. Increasingly, even recent transplants to the mountains from other states tell interviewers that farmland preservation should be at or near the top of community planning agendas. The concern made the Top 10 list of questions that emerged from Community Forums over the last month.

When the consulting specialists from the Lawrence Group make their final charrette presentation Tuesday night, May 20, attendees can expect that working agriculture and local distribution networks will be among key deliverables.

Among the afternoon meetings were a well-attended session on affordable housing and discussions about transportation issues and revitalizing town centers.

At the same time the main charrette was taking place at Western, a satellite charrette in Cashiers entered Day 2 and a third charrette in North Macon County kicked off.

Go here for full schedules of the remaining sessions at all three charrettes. And don’t forget to put the final presentation on Tuesday night on your calendars. That’s when all the separate components of this intensive week’s workshops will be knitted together.

In the meantime, watch this space for daily updates.