Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Since the Cittaslow movement does not apply a rigid set of criteria for member-
ship, but rather sets out policy goals to be translated in different local contexts, the
movement can also be seen to exhibit
fluidity
as seen by the following summary.
In order to work and to reproduce a new version of slowness in each new and diverse/
distant locality there is always change and adaptation to local conditions and contingencies.
But this suggests that both the qualification of the slow objectives, practices and spaces,
and the variable procedures for joining the Citt￠Slow network, may be understood as fluid
technologies that create mutable mobiles. (Miele
2008
, p. 135)
Miele even goes as far as claiming that the quality of fluidity and slowness ac-
counts for the success of the movement. Parkins and Craig also take up these ideas
as defining characteristics, specifically with reference to the movement's fluidity
over time.
Citt￠slow … does not seek to promote 'static' cultures defined through their stubborn oppo-
sition to the 'monolithic fluidity' (if one can use such a phrase) of modern global culture but
is itself a 'fluid' organization, defining itself through its on-going negotiation of emerging
cultural change and traditional ways of living. (2006, pp. 82-83)
From this viewpoint, Cittaslow towns are seen as taking an
active
role in choosing
between new influences, rather than
passively
conforming to the influence of the
current form of globalization, as well as cherishing traditional ideas.
Being identified as a fluid movement is important to Cittaslow. It can help to
counter claims that the movement, and each of its members, are preservationist
in nature, seeking to preserve towns in the past, rather than moving forward with
the times. Indeed, in the English-language town planning literature an important
distinction is made between the terms 'conservation' and 'preservation'. The latter
is usually applied to individual buildings within a town, which are viewed as being
worthy of preservation on architectural grounds, while 'conservation' refers to the
means by which the preservation of such buildings may be brought into their cur-
rent urban context, perhaps by using them for different functions, in order to give
coherence and new life to the end result (Allison et al.
1996
; Cohen
2001
). Miele
indicated that this idea of preserving things from the past within the context of an
evolving environment is basic to the Cittaslow conservation approach:
the translation of Slowness for Citt￠Slow can take different directions and it does not limit
itself to the preservation of old Slow objects, practices and spaces … making Slowness
means also engaging in a process of qualification of what is Slow and different from 'fast',
in the new objects, technologies, practices and spaces. (2008, p. 147)
In her study of Italian Cittaslow centres, Radstrom refers to conservation as a
'flexible dynamic' which 'may be central to place-sustaining' (2011, p. 109). She
claimed that Cittaslow provides an important example of the implementation of a
'place-sustaining' approach in which towns seek to conserve their unique quali-
ties and sense of place by means of drawing on their cultural traditions. So the
'place-making' strategies, used by increasing numbers of cities seeking to improve
their competitive position, risk failure in the absence of a more holistic approach to
achieving a 'place sustaining' goal.
