 Cittaslow logo | |
| Formation | 15ย October 1999 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Orvieto, Italy |
Region served | Worldwide |
| Members | 308 (December 2025)[1] |
Honorary President | Paolo Saturnini |
International President | Mauro Migliorini - Mayor of Asolo |
Secretary General | Pier Giorgio Oliveti |
| Website | www |
Cittaslow is an organisation founded in Italy and inspired by the slow food movement. Cittaslow's goals include improving the quality of life in towns by slowing down its overall pace, especially in a city's use of spaces and the flow of life and traffic through them.[2][3][4][5][6][7]
As of November 2025, Cittaslow has 308 members, 221 in Europe, 71 in Asia, 6 in North America, 4 in South America, 4 in Oceania, and 2 in Africa. Countries with most members are Italy (90), Poland (37), Turkey (28), Germany (24), China (18), South Korea (15), France (13) and Spain (11).[1]
History
editCittaslow was founded in Italy in October 1999, following a meeting organised by the mayor of Greve in Chianti, Tuscany.[8] A 54-point charter was developed, encouraging high quality local food and drink, general conviviality and the opposition to cultural standardisation.[8] In 2001, 28 Italian towns were signed up to the pledge, certified by trained operatives of Cittaslow.[9]
The first Slow City in the English-speaking world was Ludlow, England, in 2003.[10] In 2004, Reszel became the first Polish town to join Cittaslow, and several soon followed with the number growing to 12 by September 2013 and to 37 by November 2025, making Poland the country with the second highest number of member towns (after Italy).[11]
_sign,_Midden-Delfland_(2020)_02.jpg)
The movement expanded broadly beyond Italy and, by 2006, national Cittaslow networks existed in Germany, Norway and the United Kingdom. In March of 2007 the South Australian town of Goolwa was declared a Cittaslow member and became the first Non-European to gain Cittaslow membership[citation needed]. By 2007, several slow cities had been introduced across South Korea.[13]
By mid-2009, fourteen countries had at least one officially accredited Cittaslow community. In July 2009, the small seaside village of Cowichan Bay in Canada became the North American continent's first Cittaslow town.[citation needed] In June 2011, Gรถkรงeada in Turkey became the first and only Cittaslow island.[14] As of September 2013, Cittaslow had 177 members, the most in Italy (73), Poland, South Korea, Germany (12 each), Turkey (9) and France (8).[11]
In October 2020, Izmir, Turkey's 3rd metropolitan municipality, has become The First Cittaslow Metropolis of the World.[15]
Membership
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There are three categories of membership: Cittaslow town (population less than 50,000); Cittaslow Supporter (population more than 50,000);[16] and Cittaslow Friend (individual or family).[17]
Like Slow Food, Cittaslow is a membership organisation. Full membership of Cittaslow is only open to towns with a population under 50,000. To become eligible for membership, a town must normally score at least 50 percent in a self-assessment process against the set of Cittaslow goals, and then apply for admission to the appropriate Cittaslow national network. An annual membership fee is payable by towns.[citation needed]
The first town in England to become a Cittaslow city (and the first in the English-speaking world) was Ludlow[10] in November 2003;[18] the first in Wales was Mold.[18] There are currently three towns in the UK that are members.[19][Disagrees with five named in the list.]
Pijao, a small town in Colombia, is to become the first Cittaslow city in Latin America.[20]
Polish Cittaslow towns participate in the annual Cittaslow Towns Festival, hosted each year by a different member town in Poland.[21] The first festival took place in 2010 in Reszel.
Some localitites withdrew from the organization, including Diss, UK, Fairfax, California, US, Ludlow, UK, Perth, UK, Taraklฤฑ, Turkey, and Wydminy, Poland.[22][23][24]
Members
edit
The goals and aims
editThere are 50 goals and principles that each Cittaslow town commits to work to achieve. They serve as benchmarks to improve the quality of life in each city.
The main aims of the movement are:[citation needed]
- making life better for everyone living in an urban environment
- improving the quality of life in the cities
- resisting the homogenization and globalization of towns around the globe
- protecting the environment
- promoting cultural diversity and uniqueness of individual cities
- providing inspiration for a healthier lifestyle
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Cittaslow List" (PDF). Retrieved 27 January 2026.
- ^ Parkins, Wendy; Craig, Geoffrey (2006). Slow Living. Berg. p.ย 79. ISBNย 978-1-84520-160-9.
- ^ Tranter, Paul J.; Tolley, Rodney (2020). Slow cities: conquering our speed addiction for health and sustainability. Amsterdam: Elsevier. doi:10.1016/C2017-0-03013-6. ISBNย 978-0-12-815316-1.
- ^ Mayer, Heike; Knox, Paul L. (2006). "Slow Cities: Sustainable Places in a Fast World". Journal of Urban Affairs. 28 (4): 321โ334. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9906.2006.00298.x. S2CIDย 154519365.
- ^ Knox, Paul L. (2005). "Creating Ordinary Places: Slow Cities in a Fast World". Journal of Urban Design. 10 (1): 1โ11. doi:10.1080/13574800500062221.
- ^ Miele, Mara (2008). "Cittร Slow: Producing Slowness against the Fast Life". Space and Polity. 12 (1): 135โ156. doi:10.1080/13562570801969572. S2CIDย 144503210.
- ^ รiรงek, Mesut; Ulu, Sevincgul; Uslay, Can (2019). "The Impact of the Slow City Movement on Place Authenticity, Entrepreneurial Opportunity, and Economic Development". Journal of Macromarketing. 39 (4): 400โ414. doi:10.1177/0276146719882767.
- ^ a b Knox, Paul; Meyer, Heike (2009). Small Town Sustainability: Economic, Social, and Environmental Innovation. Birkhauser. p.ย 43. ISBNย 978-3-7643-8579-8.
- ^ Knox, Paul; Meyer, Heike (2009). Small Town Sustainability: Economic, Social, and Environmental Innovation. Birkhauser. p.ย 44. ISBNย 978-3-7643-8579-8.
- ^ a b Patrick Barkham (13 September 2004). "Waking up to the joys of life in the slow lane". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
- ^ a b Kacprzak, Marzena; Gralak, Katarzyna (2015). "Wykorzystanie koncepcji slow tourism w promocji i ksztaลtowaniu wizerunku regionรณw turystycznych". Zeszyty Naukowe Turystyka i Rekreacja (in Polish). Vol.ย 15 (1). Warszawa: Wyลผsza Szkoลa Turystyki i Jฤzykรณw Obcych. p.ย 127. ISSNย 1899-7228.
- ^ "Midden-Delfland". Cittaslow. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
- ^ http://news.sbs.co.kr/section_news/news_read.jsp?news_id=N1000348056 Slow cities for the first time as Asian nations. (์์์ ์ต์ด๋ก '๊ตญ์ ์ฌ๋ก์ํฐ' ์ง์ ) 2007-12-10
- ^ "cittaslow cities Aegean". goturkiye.com. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
- ^ "Izmir is Candidate to Become the First Cittaslow Metropolis | Cittaslow International". www.cittaslow.org. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
- ^ "Supporters". 29 April 2025.
- ^ "Join Cittaslow UK | Cittaslow". Archived from the original on 10 December 2012. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
- ^ a b Robinson, Peter; Heitmann, Sine; Dieke, Peter U.C. (2011). Research Themes for Tourism. CABI. p.ย 118. ISBNย 978-1-84593-684-6.
- ^ a b Cittaslow UK Archived 28 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine Towns
- ^ http://www.eltiempo.com/vida-de-hoy/viajar/ARTICULO-WEB-NEW_NOTA_INTERIOR-13198815.html [dead link]
- ^ Kacprzak, Marzena; Gralak, Katarzyna (2015). "Wykorzystanie koncepcji slow tourism w promocji i ksztaลtowaniu wizerunku regionรณw turystycznych". Zeszyty Naukowe Turystyka i Rekreacja (in Polish). Vol.ย 15 (1). Warszawa: Wyลผsza Szkoลa Turystyki i Jฤzykรณw Obcych. p.ย 133. ISSNย 1899-7228.
- ^ Holland, Tessa (2017). Navigating Slow, โfastโ and crafted knowledges. Knowing through Cittaslow (PDF). pp.ย 118, 126. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
- ^ "Uchwaลa nr VI/47/2024 Rady Gminy Wydminy" (PDF) (in Polish). Retrieved 27 January 2026.
- ^ Kรถse, Selma Aydoฤan; Akลit, ลule Filiz (2024). "Embracing the slow life: Assessing the performance of Turkey's slow cities in promoting sustainable urban resilience". Journal of Design for Resilience in Architecture and Planning. 5: 36.
