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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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
HistoryEdit
Cittaslow was founded in Italy in October 1999, following a meeting organised by the mayor of Greve in Chianti, Tuscany.<ref name="small town 43">Template:Cite book</ref> A 54-point charter was developed, encouraging high quality local food and drink, general conviviality and the opposition to cultural standardisation.<ref name="small town 43" /> In 2001, 28 Italian towns were signed up to the pledge, certified by trained operatives of Cittaslow.<ref name="small town 44">Template:Cite book</ref> The first Slow City in the English-speaking world was Ludlow, England, in 2003.<ref name="Waking up">Template:Cite news</ref> 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 membershipTemplate:Citation needed. 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.Template:Citation needed In June 2011, Gökçeada in Turkey became the first and only Cittaslow island.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Nearly a decade later in October 2020, Izmir, Turkey's 3rd metropolitan municipality, has become The First Cittaslow Metropolis of the World.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
MembershipEdit
There are three categories of membership: Cittaslow town (population less than 50,000); Cittaslow Supporter (population more than 50,000);<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Cittaslow Friend (individual or family).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
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.Template:Citation needed
The first town in England to become a Cittaslow city (and the first in the English-speaking world) was Ludlow<ref name="Waking up" /> in November 2003;<ref name="research themes 118">Template:Cite book</ref> the first in Wales was Mold.<ref name="research themes 118" /> There are currently three towns in the UK that are members.<ref name=uktowns>Cittaslow UK Template:Webarchive Towns</ref>Template:Fix
By 2007, several slow cities had been introduced across South Korea.<ref>http://news.sbs.co.kr/section_news/news_read.jsp?news_id=N1000348056 Slow cities for the first time as Asian nations. (아시아 최초로 '국제 슬로시티' 지정) 2007-12-10</ref>
Pijao, a small town in Colombia, is to become the first Cittaslow city in Latin America.<ref>http://www.eltiempo.com/vida-de-hoy/viajar/ARTICULO-WEB-NEW_NOTA_INTERIOR-13198815.html Template:Dead link</ref>
MembersEdit
The goals and aimsEdit
There 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:Template: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