To me, this word is used twice in the first two lines to
emphasize the theme of the poem. The word itself has a couple of possible
meanings:
First, I believe the word refers to the idea of
charters. These were agreements that were written up (sort of like contracts) that
spelled out the rights a city or a guild or something
had.
Second, I believe it refers to the idea of charts, or
maps.
In both cases, the idea here is that the streets and
the rivers have been heavily influenced by people. They have been mapped out and they
have been subjected to rules (charters). They are no longer in any way
"free."
This goes along with the main theme of the poem,
which is that city life has taken away the freedom and vitality of the people and has
oppressed them.
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