Cittaslow (Slow City) is a rural development movement of small towns started in Italy in 1999. The movement aims to improve their quality of life and sustainability by emphasizing the individual towns’ unique identities, the local asset-based economy, and by promoting an eco-friendly environment. Cittaslow has rapidly grown into a transnational phenomenon. In recent years, the movement has attracted increasing interest from shrinking towns in EU countries as a community revitalisation instrument. In Japan, Chihō-sōsei (regional revitalisation) has been a top policy agenda, to create strategies for improving the quality of life in shrinking communities. Various actors have developed different forms in movements to (re)settle in country side. This workshop offers an opportunity for a transnational dialogue between scholars and practitioners of Japanese revitalization programmes, and key participants of the Cittaslow movement.
A full copy of the programme for the day can be viewed here.
This event will consist of two parts. In the first part, the guest speakers will be asked to make presentations to introduce the current situation of Japanese shrinkage and the local development activities of the Cittaslow movement. The second part will then be an open discussion about the potential as well as limitations of introducing Cittaslow to Japanese rural communities to better address shrinkage. The guest speakers will discuss the theoretical relevance, the practical applicability, and the trans-cultural transferability of Cittaslow in Japanese shrinking communities.
Date and Location:
Thu, 10/03/2016 - 09:30 to 16:45
Pavilion Room, 4th Floor, Gateway Building, St. Antony's College, Oxford
Speakers:
Professor Gert-Jan Hospers, Radboud University, University of Twente, Mr Pier Giorgio Oliveti, General Secretariat, Cittaslow International, Ms Heuishilja Chang, PhD student, University of Oxford, Professor Hirokazu Sakuno, Shimane University, Dr Peter Matanle, University of Sheffield, Dr Taro Hirai, Hirosaki University
