BABEȘ-BOLYAI UNIVERSITY

The Concept of Slow City

Can it be applied in Cluj-Napoca?

Duță Ovidiu Ionel

„Regeneration and re-use are priorities, rather than modernisation and redevelopment for

the sake of change.” Cittaslow Charter 1999

The objectives of this paper is to determine if Cluj-Napoca would be a suitable

candidate for the position of a Slow City membership and if anything can be done to promote

the Slow City movement in Cluj if certain criterias are not fulfilled. The first thing that makes

Cluj-Napoca unsuitable for the Slow City membership is its number of inhabitants. It needs to

have no more than 50000 and Cluj-Napoca has well over 300000. From the beggining I must

state that Cluj-Napoca can’t be a Slow City not just because if its large number of citizens but

also by its structure having a lot of cars, public transport and small green areas compared to

its overall size. So in order to suggest any changes to Cluj-Napoca, I’ll present the concept

itself and some cities that are members of this slow movement and try to recollect some

characteristics that would be suitable for Cluj-Napoca. But all is not lost. Some solutions can

be given.

The concept of slow-city or cittaslow began in Italy in 1999. It was inspired by the

Slow Food organization. And both concepts of slow city and slow food are small parts in a

bigger movement called Slow Movement. It includes also slow living, slow design or slow

arhitecture. To be a slow city or at least have a chance in being called like that, the city has to

have no more than 50000 inhabitants. Anything larger than this number would make a

applying the concept a bit harder. Because the cittaslow concept has some rules which you

must respect to be declared a slow-city. Before the rules, I must explain what does this

concept encourage or try to implement wherever it’s adopted.

The first thing that cittaslow wants to bring to cities is improving the quality of life by

slowing down the overall pace. This first step is done by reducing or eliminating car traffic.

This is done gradually by introducing no traffic day, by diverting traffic to different parts of

the city or by focussing on public transport done with a degree of focus in not disturbing the

overall aspect and arhitecture of the city. That’s because the cittaslow movement wants or

tries to use the spaces in a city more naturally and by doing this encourage the inhabitants to

have a more natural pace of life, without traffic or nerves caused by the lack of cars. This is

way it’s important not to have more than 50000 inhabitants. Other rules apply in a small city,

especially if that city has a decent amount of green space or symbolic arhictecture.

The history of cittaslow and some guidelines in how to become a slow-city. Being a

worldwide organization, Cittaslow can grant to a city a specific membership: cittaslow,

cittaslow supporter and cittaslow friend. To became a full member of this organisation, your

city musn’t exceed a population of 50000. After this first rule, the city has to score more than

half of the self-assessment process based on a set of Cittaslow goales and after that apply for

admission to the appropriate Cittaslow national network. And this membership has also an

annual fee. Being in a club doesn’t come cheap and the quality of life isn’t cheap when

everything is for sale.

To become a member of Cittaslow, the city has to fulfill some goals such as: making

life better for everyone living in an urban environment, improving the quality of life, making

the city stand out among other cities and not be globalized like the whole globe, protecting the

environment, promoting the cultural diversity and the uniqueness of that city and providing

inspiration for a healthier life style. And one of the solutions in doing this is to promote the

local food, the local culture and the local production relying on its own resources and not

depend on the world, thus having a specific brand by which each city is characterized.

Although Cittaslow began in Italy, the concept has rapidily been adopted in some

countries from Europe like Germany, Norway, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Turkey and the

United Kingdom, in Australia, in Asia where South Korea has slow-cities and last but not

least in the United States of America. In total there are close to 100 slow cities and each day

cities apply submission forms to be classified as slow-cities. And the reason to join in the club

is this: „earning the designation attracts tourism, boosts the local economy, and raises

property values. The designation also gives the city the right to use the Slow Cities logo --

similar to the Slow Food snail, but with a cluster of buildings riding on its back -- on city

documents and promotional information. ["We are looking for towns," the Slow Cities

manifesto states, „where men are still curious about the old days, towns rich in theatres,

squares, cafes, workshops, restaurants, and spiritual places, towns with untouched landscapes

and charming craftsmen, towns where people are still able to recognize the slow course of the

seasons and their genuine products respecting tastes, health, and customs”.]” 1

One main aspect of slow cities is their lack of heavy industry and their focus on

recycling. Having large green areas, the environmental aspect is important and

environmentally friendly building materials and vehicles are encouraged, although not using

your car is desired and the traffic is strictly pedestrian, greatly reducing polution and

congestion in traffic. „These cities are like islands of tranquility and healthy living” said Carlo

Petrini, founder of the Slow Food and Slow city movements.

1 http://www.ericjlyman.com/talkenvironment.html

In order to see if Cluj-Napoca has any chances in adopting the slow-movement, first

we must see what are the characteristics and traits of the cities that are members of the

Cittaslow Movement. And upon those characteristics, we can build a model on which Cluj-

Napoca would focus in order to be considered a slow-city or at least parts of it having the

slow-movement criteria present. Because the number of citizens is to big, one idea is to

implement this philosophy in certain parts of the city, such as the down-town where the

historical buildings are found or in areas where traffic is at its minimum or where green areas

are found in a decent amount so that the citizens enjoy life without the hassle of traffic or air

polutio. Before that, let’s see what cities are members of the Cittaslow movement.

One example of slow cities is Ludlow in England. Ludlow from the information given

by wikipedia and other sites is a small market town with a population of 10500. From the

photos and description, Ludlow is a town where the historical buildings are present and

valued and where the green areas make up a large part of the view of the city and of the life

style of the inhabitants. Having a medieval history of trade guilds such as shoemakers,

butchers, mercers, tailors and cooks, most of the buldings remain the same and this aspect is a

trademark of the city and its advantages in being a slow-city, life here being almost the same

as it has been several centuries ago. Another aspect is the town’s focus in tourism, despite the

small number of citizens. Having a rich history, the antique dealers found a thriving business

here along side the fruit and vegetables market. In recent history, Ludlow was described by

Country Life magazine as „the most vibrant small town in England.” Ludlow has a festival for

almost 50 years and the presence of a castle makes for the historical atmosphere to be more

credible when various plays of Shakespeare are staged. Besides that a Food and Drink festival

is held in September where small food producers sell their wares. This aspect creates the

sense of community in the town and people tend to enjoy life even more when their industry

is appreciated by the local community.

Ludlow fits one of the CittaSlow requirements; it has less than 50.000 inhabitants. The

reason why this concept accepts only such small towns might be that the strength of active

public participation and its active networking capacity could be maximized only in such

small communities. It is officially governed by a Town Council but has an incredible number

of active civil societies; such as Agenda21, Civic Society, Women’s Institute, Chamber of

Trade, Churches Together, South Shropshire Youth Forum. Active and dynamic public

participation and grassroot democracy were the basic driving forces of all kind of creative

activities in town, even before the CittaSlow movement was introduced. The town officially

became part of the chain in 2003, as the first British partner. Ludlow also became the

coordinator town of the movement in Great Britain

The Citta Slow movement concentrates on improving social networks and business

cooperation to achieve local development. The intermediary points of this kind of

development are the local markets. The historical town center offers a diversity of small

specialist shops, out of which many are family-owned and are offering mainly locally made

and cultivated products and personal service. This is called “shopping with a personal touch”.

Instead of fierce competition, a new form of cooperation is witnessed as shopkeepers work

together specializing in some niches of the sector and helping out costumers where they can

buy products they could not find. The town also shows its commitment to global

sustainability, as Ludlow became an official Fair Trade town as well in 2004.

The basic concept of slow towns regarding tourism is to treat visitors “as if they were

residents of the town, as temporary residents”. But besides focusing on hospitability, the town

movement’s main goal is to get as much benefit as possible out of tourism while avoiding the

costs locals might have to pay due to disturbance. There are several programs for locals and

for tourists as well, the main point is that both parties should be targeted at organizing events.

The audience of the events is very diverse, but at the fairs all participants are locals or come

from the region around. The Festival of Food and Drink has the most traditional roots drawing

back to the medieval markets, presently a platform for small producers to display and promote

their products. This festival has major importance in providing both a demand for the local

products and a chance for the producers and farmers to introduce and promote their products.

The main policy of the town leaders is to restore and show the historical town. The

financing of the restoration projects is helped by the local government, to ensure that the

renovations respect traditional ornaments and fit into the urban landscape of the town.

CittaSlow Ludlow started also a significant display project, called Ludlow Town Trail.

Presently they are at the stage of fund raising, mainly at the local festivals, through point-sale

stickers and displays. The heritage preserving restoration project perfectly fits into this newer

initiative.

Many might think that the movement’s efforts concentrate only on preserving what the

town already has, therefore could not be a valid option for sustainable urban planning, which

should include some kind of development as well. Ludlow is a great case to show that the

Citta Slow movement is not about to be trapped in the past.

The suggestions to improve the urban environment based on CityMajor 2007, sites

related to the Slow Movement and CittaSlow and the site of Ludlow:

1. Preserve or create identity

2. “Restoration of the original conditions of the historical centers and/or of works

of cultural or historical value.”

3. Stop noise pollution

4. Public recyclable containers, environmentally friendly waste management

5. “Green spaces and pedestrian zones”

6. “Develop a city-wide internet-based network for citizens”

7. Promote internet based trade and web-sites for all entrepreneurs

8. Use environment-friendly building materials

9. “Increase the status and accessibility of historical town centers” – preserving

local landscape in towns

10. Traffic control -parking schemes

11. Help local entrepreneurship: farmers, craftsmen and retailers – boost

cooperation

12. Boost local employment

13. Strengthen local community and networks

14. Preserve local traditions – arts and culture – festivals – gastronomic traditions

15. Raise awareness – youth programs

16. Promote quality of hospitality – direct contact and personal services

17. Natural and eco-compatible food production

18. Protect the environment, even through production and agriculture techniques

19. Infrastructure policy should focus on qualitative improvement

20. Develop local markets

Two major urbanization trends affect the social and economic structures of small rural

towns. Both the lack of development and a mismanaged development of a town might lead to

serious problems, such as abandonment or homogenization. Uncontrolled tourism could also

result in the same, meanwhile putting too much pressure on the local society and ecosystem.

This is the problem of large towns as opposed to small towns such as Ludlow. Being too

modern and too urban makes your town sometimes too unhospitable for tourists and too

crowded for your inhabitants. This is the case of Cluj-Napoca in certain areas. Although the

city isn’t as crowder as large cities from Europe or as crowded as the capital, it still has a high

degree of population density in certain areas, such as Manastur or Marasti where the industrial

part of the city was located or relocated after the industry collapsed. This made for grey,

unpleasant living flats and thus making for an uneven arhitecture overall the city. The

difference between the city center and the outskirts of very visible and this makes Cluj-

Napoca have an disproportionate appearance.

The solution like a I proposed in the brief is the ensure that certain parts of the city

would be „slow-citized”. This is because the large number of inhabitants doesn’t offer any

solution whatsoever. The advantage of Cluj is that is has a large number of historical

buildings, the potential of pedestrian traffic in areas where tourism can be developped and the

presence of a multicultural background makes for the entire experience worth while. From the

20 points outlined above, I’ll try to explain which one can be applied to Cluj-Napoca, in

which measure and the general outcome of the suggestions.

Preserve or create identity: this can be done with ease because Cluj-Napoca has

got an identity as the capital of Transylvania or as the brand would say it: „The heart of

Transylvania”. This fact makes the city easily stand out in the crowd among other cities in

Transylvania or Romania. Having a festival internationally recognized such as TIFF where

the general aspect of the city changes and bohemia is the rule of the day is also a solution for

making the centre of Cluj-Napoca a slow moving part of the city. It has the potential of

eliminating the traffic by deviating it on other routes and clearing the way for pedestrians to

enjoy the historical buildings like the University building, the mirror buildings, the statue of

Matei, the Unirii squre for leasure activities or organized festivals and faires. So identity is an

aspect covered or in the process of deffining for the entire world to see. We are getting there

step by step.

“Restoration of the original conditions of the historical centers and/or of works

of cultural or historical value.”: This has been done with the restoration of the Bastionul

Croitorilor and bringing cultural and artistic events inside the building. A proposal to

transform the Mihail Kogalniceanu street into a pedestrian way also contributes in discovering

and restorating the historical buildings found on that path way such as „Colegiul Academic”,

the University Building, the statue of Saint George slaying a dragon and last but not least the

pedestrian market found near the house of Matyas Rex. This also translates to the centre part

of the city

Stop noise pollution: This is a big problem and the only sollution I can think of

is reducing the overall traffic from small streets onto the big boulevards and banning cars

from small streets in order to preserve the slow pace necessarry to be called a slow city and to

encourage walking or bicyling. It can be applied in areas where small streets are clogged by

cars deviated from the main traffic.

Public recyclable containers, environmentally friendly waste management:

This has been done and it’s being applied in to public buildings as well, for example our

faculty has public recyclable containers for selective disposal. Apply this to every public

building or institution and things will move for the better.

“Green spaces and pedestrian zones”: Besied the Central Park and the

Bothanical Garden, Cluj doesn’t have that many green areas. This can and must be overseed

by the authorities and the NGOs because the potential is great. We have a forest outside the

city, small green areas behind our neighbourhoods but nothing in the city centre or in the

industrial areas where fresh air and trees are a ally in fighting air and noise pollution. Apply

this mainly in the industrial areas such as Manastur and Marasti.

“Develop a city-wide internet-based network for citizens”: This is the mayor’s

job, if it sees the need for such a thing. My sugestion would be more and more occasions for

the citizens to gatter and experience the feeling of being a resident of this city. Facebook has

the I love Cluj Page so people have reasons to love this city, you just need to make more and

more occassions to express your gratitude.

Promote internet based trade and web-sites for all entrepreneurs: This is the

entrepreneurs’s job. If they lack promotion and awareness, they should turn to the internet and

market themselves for those who browser the internet and aren’t their main target such as

students.

Use environment-friendly building materials: Although slow cities encourage

the historical heritage, this doesn’t mean when restoration comes into play that technology

couldn’t give a helping hand. The use of eco-friendly building materials should be a focus of

contractors and arhitects when specific projects arrise taking into accound to respect the visual

heritage that the building has. This can be applied when specific buildings need restoration

without sacrificing both aspect and functionality of the materials.

“Increase the status and accessibility of historical town centers” – preserving

local landscape in towns: this has been done and can be improved in preparing Cluj-Napoca

for the status of European Cultural Capital of 2020.

Traffic control -parking schemes : It exists in the city centre where parking

spots are in dirrect correlation with the traffic lights and display the number of free spots.

Other parking spots have an underground system for housing cars and ensure that traffic is

deviated from certain areas and the general aspect isn’t gluttered with cars.

Help local entrepreneurship: farmers, craftsmen and retailers – boost

cooperation: This is being done with the help of mobile markets and their popularization

among citizens. This ensures that farmers cand sell their products in different areas of the city,

having a different customers and different feedback for its business. Besides that, the

pedestrian walkway next to Matyas Rex’s house has weekly craftsman’s shops displaying

traditional products available for purchase.

Boost local employment: This is being done thanks to the high number of

students present in the city, the large population present in Cluj and the industry being

developped in colaboration with foreign companies such as Bosch.

Strengthen local community and networks: I have no idea how besides more

and more occassions in which the citizend can come together and enjoy being part of Cluj-

Napoca. The city has traditional restaurants with their own cuisines and festivals or special

days for foreign communities or cultural manifestations for the ethnical groups found in Cluj.

Preserve local traditions – arts and culture – festivals – gastronomic traditions:

This is being done due to the traditional shops present every week on the pedestrian walkway.

Alongside they have the Clujana and Napolact brands which display their products in the

spring to ensure that the citizens don’t forget their traditional heritage and symbols.

Raise awareness – youth programs: We have a lot of those, BEST being one

example. And besides BEST, every faculty has a specific program or class that focuses on the

brand awareness of Cluj-Napoca and its identity. My case being this class and this project.

Promote quality of hospitality – direct contact and personal services: I have no

idea how this can be done. If you can supply me with a feedback I would be gratefull.

Natural and eco-compatible food production: The same like local traditions.

The small farmers sell their natural and eco-compatible food and the public choses wether

they want it or not. The price is still an argument for me in buying something that natural on a

daily basis.

Protect the environment, even through production and agriculture techniques:

This can be applied in the outskirts of Cluj-Napoca because the main focus of the city isn’t

agriculture. But the environment can be protected in the city by having less and less trafic or

days without traffic to make the citizend aware of their walking potential or to promote public

transportation with eco-friendly fuel buses and tramways.

Infrastructure policy should focus on qualitative improvement: The only thing I

can come up with here is the new tramway system being done and it’s impact on

transportation, efficiency and overall look of the city with modern, clean, silent transportation.

Develop local markets: They exist, the only need to be better known by the

public. Clujana or Napolact are from Cluj-Napoca and are local and national brands. Other

like them can be brought to life and marketed in such a way that the public feels proud that

they come from Cluj-Napoca.

To conclude the suggestion part, Cluj-Napoca has the potential in adopting a slow-

movement concept but only for small parts of the city where the historical and traditional

aspect is being valued and marketed in such a degree that people have a habbit in going to the

traditional shop to see what’s new or to buy some gingerbread hearts. But some aspects, like

transportation, pollution, the general aspect of the city has a lot to be desired in a slow-

movement city. But Cluj-Napoca being a multifaceted city, one of its traits can be educated

to have a more quite pace to counterbalance the lively part of the students and the diversity of

the activities held on a weekly/monthly basis in Cluj-Napoca. The TIFF festival can be an

opportunity for people to take it easy and be more artsy and quit their cars and just enjoy the

movies and the general atmosphere of the city. This is one starting point in creating a

community of people joined for the same cause. Others could follow and find their own

identity. The days of celebrating the city have yet to be known by the citizens and its identity

is still in the wating so this could be another point where you as a citizen can see a different

aspect of Cluj-Napoca when all of its beauties should come to life and be celebrated for what

they represent in the history of the city.

Many would ask after seeing the great success of Ludlow, whether it could be a viable

strategy to achieve alternative urban development for other towns as well? It must be pointed

out that Citta Slow towns start their career in the movement only if they have proved that they

have the capacities to be successful, having an already well articulated agenda. All the goals

of the movement should become goals for rural small towns, but one-by-one with a much

slower phase. Therefore the Citta Slow movement is not a magic solution, but it is certain,

that the certification makes thing easier and people more excited and more deeply involved.

The program can not work well, without committed citizens having a strong sense of

community, active civic organizations and strong small business community already. This

system provides effective policy background for all these activities and provides a certain

network and framework for cooperation and participation. No two citta slow towns are the

same, and that is due to public participation and to the fact that development is always based

on the local assets and ideas. Building a strong community can solve the problems that a small

rural town might face in the era of urbanization.

Avoiding to become a “dormitory town’ needs revitalization, connecting back the

town with several long lost links to its surroundings, to the local farmers, craftsmens and other

traditional workshops. Providing citizens a livelihood and stable social background is a joint

task that local leaders and civil organizations must reach. The best way to become a lively

centre is to provide opportunity for people to meet and trade. This can be achieved for Cluj-

Napoca just in a very small degree because the city has too much life in it it cannot contain

only a single aspect like cittaslow. Students, business-men, elder people, athelets, artsy

people, each have their own way of life. And being a multicultural city this provides a bigger

challenge to adopt a slow-movement concept. Every culture has its own pace and customs and

making sure that a strong community is behind the slow-movement concept requires a lot of

understanding between different cultures and this takes time. It’s not impossible and not

easily achievable but it’s a goal to transform the city into something more lively, either if you

reduce the pace or not, but the effect should be your pleasure in living in this city and your joy

of every day life interacting with aspects of the city. Be like a guest in a hospitable city.

Books researched:

1. Research Themes for Tourism - Petern Robinson, Sine Heitmann & Peter Dieke

2. Slow Living - Wendy Parkins & Geoffrey Craig

Sites visited:

1. Cittaslow International - www.cittaslow.org

2. Slow City Movement

3. Ennyman's Territory: The Slow City Movement

4. Official Site of Korea Tourism Org.: Exploring Korea's Slow Cities

5. Talk Magazine: Environment: Slow Cities

6. Living on Earth: Slow City

7. Slow living in a city environment

8. The Slow Movement: Making a Connection

9. Slow Cities Spreading Fast : TreeHugger

10. City Mayors: Slow Cities - Citta Slow

11. Cittaslow UK aiming to improve the quality of life in towns across the UK | Cittaslow

12. Ludlow - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

13. Slow Cities Page 1

14. Slow Country Manifesto

15. Slow Cities: Taking Life Easy in Urban Italy - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International

16. Slow Cities | Small Hands, Big Ideas

17. Turkey’s First “Slow City” Promotes Local Agriculture, Slow Food Movement | Green

Prophet

18. slow city noun - definition in British English Dictionary & Thesaurus - Cambridge Dictionary

Online

19. Definition of slow city, BuzzWord from Macmillan Dictionary

20. Eric Shackle's eBook - Slow Cities

21. urbanistika.ee - the first myth of the city is that it exists: Slow cities and the slow

movement

22. NPQ

23. Slow down, people! « Sodium Pentothal

24. Targul producatorilor, inlocuit cu pietele mobile de cartier - Cluj - citynews.ro

25. Târg de produse tradiţionale ardeleneşti la Muzeul de Artă

26. Despre “Produs de Cluj” | Produs de Cluj

27. Foaia Transilvana - Târguri cu produse tradiţionale pentru Dragobete şi Mărţişor

28. Primăria Cluj-Napoca vrea pietonală pe strada Mihail Kogălniceanu

29. Nou val de pietonale în Cluj

30. A treia ediţie a târgului "Produs de Cluj", în acest weekend. Vezi programul