- 14 Mar 2002
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Two Japanese cities, Maebashi in Gunma and Kesenuma in Miyagi, joined Cittaslow, or "Slow City," a global movement that promotes regional individuality and traditions. They have announced that they will set up a national organization on 20 October to increase the number of member cities in Japan.
The eastern Japan city of Maebashi in Gunma Prefecture and the city of Kesennuma in northeast Japan's Miyagi Prefecture, which jointly announced the move on 10 October, are currently the only cities in Japan that have been officially accredited by Cittaslow.
Cittaslow is an organisation founded in Italy 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. 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 per cent in a self-assessment process against the set of Cittaslow goals and then apply for admission to the appropriate Cittaslow national network. Towns contribute an annual membership fee.
Welcome to Cittaslow International | Cittaslow International
The Cittaslow Movement was born in 1999 from the intuition of Paolo Saturnini, then Mayor of Greve in Chianti, adopted by the Mayors of the cities of Bra Francesco Guida, Orvieto Stefano Cimicchi and Positano Domenico Marrone, and welcomed by Carlin Petrini, President of Slow Food.
The eastern Japan city of Maebashi in Gunma Prefecture and the city of Kesennuma in northeast Japan's Miyagi Prefecture, which jointly announced the move on 10 October, are currently the only cities in Japan that have been officially accredited by Cittaslow.
Push to raise membership in Italian 'Slow City' movement gets boost in Japan - The Mainichi
MAEBASHI -- Two Japanese cities belonging to the Cittaslow, or