CHARM is a mapping application that gives local officials, stakeholders, and citizens the power to map and analyze growth with real-time feedback. When used with the weTable—a low cost, do-it-yourself, interactive tabletop approach for public engagement (instructions provided on the CHARM website)—it forms a powerful planning tool for engaging the public and gathering their values about the community’s future. The application is supported with a library of mapping data, including data on urbanization, storm surges, conservation, public facilities, and coastal resources. The CHARM application can leverage local community knowledge for better long-term planning along the U.S. Gulf Coast.

The CHARM team works with local communities in workshops to build risk awareness and disaster resilience at the local level, and to help local officials and citizens understand the challenges and opportunities involved in growth planning. CHARM is, however, a free add-on to CommunityViz (geospatial planning software that requires a paid license) and is available to use independently. Independent users will likely need some technical support from the CHARM team, which can offer a project template and data at no cost for states where they have data—at this time, this consists of a handful of Southern states. Contact the CHARM team for more information.

For GIS staff and planners who are interested in learning how to use CHARM, the development team offers "CHARM school"—a free, three-day training that teaches users how to design and create their own interactive mapping exercises and analyses through ArcGIS and CommunityViz software functionality.