Idea #1: Slow Towns
Local, relaxed, sustainable. Europe is leading the way. Is BC next?
New ideas for the new year.
[Editor's note: Back by popular demand, The Tyee again is offering its readers a series of New Ideas for the New Year. We're publishing a new one starting today through Jan. 2. They're intended to get everyone's problem-solving, creative thinking going for 2009. Later in January we'll be asking you to suggest your own new ideas for the new year, and publish a selection.]
Ludlow, a traditional market town in the south of England, sidles close to the Welsh border. An 11th-century castle stands sentinel over it, reminding inhabitants of the area's Norman past.
During the course of a half-hour phone conversation with Graeme Kidd, who served as Ludlow's mayor for three years, I came to learn how Ludlow became the first officially recognized "slow town" or "Citta Slow" in the U.K.
Back in the mid-'90s, Kidd was invited to a meeting at a local pub, where community folks gathered to decide how to take on Tesco, a chain store with sights on Ludlow. As the discussion grew more heated, according to Kidd, "We drank some more beer, and got more and more creative."
He tells me that they decided to "play to the town's strengths" by fighting back with food and drink that were produced using "local products and traditional skills."
The food festival that the clan of locals started in 1995 soon grew into the "biggest and best of its kind in the U.K.," according to Kidd, effectively doubling the population of this community of 10,000 for three days each September.
It also helped vault Ludlow into the Citta Slow movement, a growing collection of towns -- recognizable by a snail logo -- dedicated to relaxation, sustainability, quality of life, community and preservation of tradition.
As Kidd tells me, the designation is "not a marketing tool," but a new way to think about civic planning that recognizes "the quality of life for people who live in your town and for the people who visit."
A tasty lifestyle
That Ludlow's transformation began with food is highly appropriate -- the trend towards slow towns grew out of Italy's nearly two-decade-old slow-food movement.
Those who embraced the Italian philosophy realized it was about much more than what they were having for lunch. It was about how they chose to live their lives.
Hence Citta Slow, a more ambitious movement that hit the ground in Italy circa 1999 ("Citta," Italian for "town" and "Slow" for "slow food"), and now boasts about 100 adherents across Europe, Asia and Australia.
Citta Slow applicants must adhere to a set of criteria to qualify. These address the unique qualities of the town, the sustainability of its infrastructure, the preservation of its history and the maintenance of local ways of doing things.
Cowichan Bay gets it
Are B.C.'s towns up to the challenge?
Mara Jernigan, who runs Fairburn Farm http://www.fairburnfarm.bc.ca/ in the Cowichan Valley, tells me that her hometown of Cowichan Bay on Vancouver Island "doesn't want to be a cookie cutter community where you find the same stuff you find anywhere."
It was Jernigan, also president of Slow Food Canada, who signed the application that might turn Cowichan Bay into North America's first official slow town.
Along with others in her community, Jernigan was concerned that new development was poised to erase the history of this special place. Her group decided that a map was needed to document the area's unique character, so it enlisted the skills of UVic environmental studies professor Briony Penn, a mapmaker who specializes in artistic reliefs that reflect regional attributes.
Jernigan explains that in order to communicate the meaning of a place, "a map has to show context, not just borders."
"If you have a different kind of map, people can say 'Hey, isn't that where the herons lay their eggs and hatch their young?'"
The finished product, which now hangs in the True Grain Bakery, the hub of the town, will allow people to begin to understand the depth of history of Cowichan Bay and the surrounding area, especially as regards food production. It might also help the community achieve Citta Slow designation.
Slowing down Gibsons
Gibsons, where I call home, is neither a market town, nor an agricultural area. Yet, its Sustainable Transportation Task Force, which I recently joined, has begun tossing around the notion of Citta Slow as a way to improve the liveability of the lower portion of town.
We are looking at slowing down traffic, encouraging street culture, promoting artisanal producers and meeting the sustainability goals set out in the Official Community Plan (OCP). According task force spokesperson Jody Schick, "There is a lot of will in Gibsons with people who have been involved in the OCP. The challenge is getting the boots on the ground and applying that vision statement into action."
Schick sees our group engaging with the public so that artists and musicians can reclaim the town's common spaces allowing children to play outside their fenced yards.
These conversations have given me a new understanding. Citta Slow can never be defined by any one issue, whether it is food production, traffic or development.
As the Citta Slow organization puts it, the movement is about countering the "proliferation of uniformity" wrought on civilization by a homogenizing global culture of capitalism. This is the soul for which, in this day, every town needs to fight.
Related stories:
- Slow Food's Growing Pains
Want to eat local? You'll have to get in line. - Speeding the Slow Food Movement
The head of Slow Food USA talks about how to promote sustainable hedonism, even in fast-paced cities like New York. - Art as Engine for Small Towns
In rural BC, arts and culture are fueling future plans.
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doggone
21-12-2008
Good for Cow Bay and Gibsons
This could be a step in the right direction. I live in a fairly Slow rural area just north of Cowichan Bay - actually just north of Ladysmith - and our area has been Slow up till a few years ago when Terasen Gas showed up with a major tank farm proposal. We liked it the way it was but are getting used to "progress": being directed into snow filled ditches by Hydro crew flagpersons and counting the very few trees left standing in what was for most of the 35 years I have lived here a second growth forest.
So far we have had a few glossy bullitins from Terasen which failed to mention that the whole area would need to be clear cut.
Maybe the logging had nothing to do with the Gas Tank but if you have ever attempted to track land entitlement on Vancouver Island you may know where I ended up: TimberWest and Island Timberlands (BrasCan)"own" this portion of the planet. Just how they came to this position takes us too far back: probably to the Esquimalt-Nanaimo Land Grant and very likely preceded any Coleman shennanigans.
So if you can slow your "Citta" good on you
Peter Dimitrov
22-12-2008
Pehaps
Idea #1: "Snow towns" = "slow towns" -at least in Vancouver this morning, eh! :), but seriously it is a great idea with applicability to this Province...and just because it is 'slow' in some economic sectors does not mean those locales cannot excel in the Arts (music, theatre), or wine-producing/tasting, sport-Fishing, eco-tourism, agricultural produce (there is one small town in the US that has branded itself the 'squash capital of the world', the small town of Lyndon across the border is known for its incredible tulip festival; Stratford, Ontario for the Shakespear theatre, etc. Indeed during these times when economic growth is non-existent to slow...it a great time to shift gears from disaster capitalism and outdated economic measuring tools such as GDP to genuine progress and GP indicators!Indeed to shift gears from corporate private sector development for the private accumulation of profit to more publicly led development originating upwards from communities to meet their useful needs. Indeed, "SLOW"...selective, local, and perhaps -wonderfully appropriate"!
morechatter
22-12-2008
And the Turtle wins the race
Slow and easy does it as we move back to whats truly important to our species the planet and her people and their communities. And its grand as its not the gold hanging from your neck that will make you enriched but rather a Shakespeare play on a dreamy moon lite night.
RickW
22-12-2008
Slow BC?
With Campbell in the captain's chair, the only "slow" BC will see is soup kitchen slow.
reallife
22-12-2008
Doggone
"Just how they came to this position takes us too far back: probably to the Esquimalt-Nanaimo Land Grant and very likely preceded any Coleman shennanigans."
You are correct that this cannot be pinned on the current government. The entire east coast of VI, including timber and minerals, was handed over in the E&N grant. Only gold and silver were retained by the government.
PatrickMcEvoyHalston
22-12-2008
Might Slow Come to Shove
Personally, I would love it if Slow not only Shoved off the Manic, but also Seduced "Economic Sectors" into Dressing into Something Sexier.
Fish-counter
22-12-2008
Slow Towns; try Nanaimo
I live in Nanaimo, and I love it. We have some of the best urban wildlife going; deer roam freely in many sections of town and they graze in your back yard if you don't put up a fence. They are a nuisance if you like to grow roses for example, because they will eat the lot in one night. Some people get annoyed by these critters, but to me they are a welcome intrusion by Nature.
No offence, but I could not imagine living in a larger city. For me, it is about quality of life, not quantity. Perhaps we should measure gross domestic happiness, rather than gross domestic product. That is what they do in Bhutan, and it makes sense to me.
carfreed
22-12-2008
automobiles
Take out traffic and mission accomplished.
Where I live, I wont go into our centre during the summer or if I have to I will get in and out before 10am. After 10am, I lose my temper with all the traffic.
In the winter, the main road is still very congested. People drive and park from one shop to another.
I HATE AUTOMOBILES. They have ruined our lives.
And I am damn sorry I bought into the habit for so many years.
Now I'm an electric biker.
Boy do we need to reinvent personal mobility.
from Paradise Lost, Salt Spring Island,BC
westcoastindienews
22-12-2008
Changing times & Sustainability
I think we are in a time where our survival will be dependent upon "slowing down." As most of us know, the current way of living is no longer sustainable in so many ways.
The price of real estate grew past most of our ability to afford to own our homes, the bubble has burst and reality is bringing prices down. As with the markets, which were illusory, so too is that fallacy ending.
While some of us have been running around consuming, buying all the trinkets & doodads, depression & anxiety have risen exponentially, with little personal analysis that "things" don't sustain us, or make us happy.
Our environment and resources have been grossly exploited to the point we've damaged our very existence. Clearly, not sustainable.
In my life I was "forced" to "slow down" by circumstances beyond my control and to learn to live in a simpler, more meaningful way. It's the best thing that ever happened to me to get me off a fast track. I know the value of just being, of doing things meaningfully, of valuing the non-material, of people, of what's truly important. I find it interesting that people around me feel sad, or pity, or something about my circumstances when I feel richer, wealthier and that real abundance has flowed into my life,while these people appear to feel stressed, anxious, scared and unhappy almost all of the time.
Our world is changing, many of us will lose what we think is most important. Those of us who can embrace "slowing down" and simplifying will be able to tolerate the changes better, will work with each other and find a new sense of community and interdependence that was the norm just a generation, or two ago. Many people living in smaller communities will have an easier time than those living in cities, which are more alienating and less community oriented on the scale necessary for interdependence.
Thanks for this great article and the opportunity to contribute.
Kootenay Coyote
22-12-2008
Slow Towns
If you live in the West Kootenay, you're pretty much there already...
AMP
22-12-2008
slow - but complex please!!!
I grew up in a small, lovely town...
but please consider the teenager when you glorify slow!
If the entertainment factor is as complex as going for a lovely walk - you can bet that for teenagers there will be 3 options:
pot, booze, insert 3rd drug of choice...
Make sure you bring lots of artists and philosophers along for the ride in each and every small town - and get a climbing wall please!!
homegrown
22-12-2008
Paradise Lost
Saltspring Is. paradise lost I can relate - VAncouver when I was a kid was so quiet, so tranquil, and I know Saltspring 40 yrs ago was a completely different place. You should look up the concept of solastalgia - it explains people's feelings when they lose their sense of place.
margot
23-12-2008
joy of walking
The first step to slow is delicious.
About twenty-five years ago, bus drivers were locked out during a labour dispute in greater Vancouver. It was summer, a gorgeous summer, and a wonderful thing happened. People started walking to and from work, some as much as five or even ten miles each way. For the able-bodied, it was amazing to discover how quickly we could get from A to B, and "long" distances became possible, acceptable, and a way of socializing that we maintained long after the bus drivers were allowed back to work.
I fondly remember, that summer, and others later, walking from N. Burnaby to and from the Railway Club, on Saturday afternoons. We didn't even go the most direct route, preferring the park and train tracks along Burrard Inlet. And we didn't dress for hiking. I often wore rather racy cream rayon pyjamas and high-heeled, open-toed, red Joan Crawfords. As tasteless and odd as that sounds now, it was bliss at the time, and I remember arguing that the high heels lengthened my stride. We could walk fast and smoothly, it felt glamourous, and when we discovered a bar that, exactly like the Railway Club, had an electric train running around the ceiling, it made a perfect rest stop for a beer on the way.
And we weren't just fair weather walkers. We discovered the rain high, the probable inspiration for --- definitely the substance of --- Karen Plato's anthem to west coast wet, "Beauty in the Rain".
Umbrella accoustics add a certain edge to a conversation, and there's the way rain on an umbrella can make even a mall parking lot feel like Paris.
And hey, young lovers, a kiss in the rain beats ten in a Lamborghini.
Walking is a vital omission in many "carbon-busting" and "green" spotlight grabbing minuets. It's the first stage of everything that needs improving in our lifestyle.
rosemara
23-12-2008
Slowtown Nelson
What a fantastic idea for Nelson! Perhaps we could regain the lovely ambience we had just before the recent real estate mania.....And now people HONK THEIR HORNS on Baker Street!!! It comes as a shock to those of us who loved our town (and want to continue to live and love it here).
anarcho
23-12-2008
Peak oil will make us slow
Peak oil will make us slow down. The one draw back from the coming economic depression is that it is bringing the price of oil down and so perpetuating this idiot car-mall-suburbs system. I long for $500 a barrel oil!
alive
23-12-2008
only if you can handle S-L-O-W!
This is not a new trend, many families have moved to remote towns to escape the hassle of city-life.
Some have had to move a few times because the place they had chosen became too popular and within 10 years had lost its attraction.
A simple guideline is: once they install the first traffic-light, it is time to move on!
The drawbacks of slow towns are: you will be tempted to drive for hours to get the groceries you have become accustomed to at a reasonable price.
You will find that you cannot get the kind of fast service, you might expect!
If you want fast service go to Hong Kong and whatever you desire is at your fingertips within 2 hours, in a slow town it can be more like 2 weeks!
Places that do not attract a lot of newcomers tend to be a bit out of the way, and you may be a "newcomer" for the rest of your life.
However anyone living in an apartment complex knows all about neighbours who smile to you, but basically ignore you.
To expect larger towns to be able to convert to "slow standards" is not realistic.
alice@tahsisrea...
23-12-2008
Slow Town Tahsis
Tahsis has been a slow town on the far west coast of Vancouver Island for quite a while and looks like it is going to be able to stay that way.
Just far enough away from the madding crowd to stay quiet and pristine.
Alice Thompson
Local Tahsis Resident