Moving Slow is the Way to Go

I understand that this is a topic the blogs go crazy over, and I'm coming into this a little late, but I'd like to say my piece on the Slow Movement-- particularly Slow Cities (Cittaslow, as it originated in Italy).

Here's the Slow Movement website's description of Slow Cities:


Firstly, I have to say that my overall reaction is that the Slow Movement in general just seems to make good sense. In this increasingly globalized world, broad solutions seem less and less effective. Localized answers to problems based on good sense, and consideration not only for the immediate area but for the world at large, simply makes sense to me. So I'm not going to use this post to make a pitch for the Slow Movement, or slow cities, other than to say I think its ashame that only one town in the U.S. has qualified as a "slow city,"-- Sonoma Valley, CA.

What interests me, however, is the meshing of ideas-- a criss-crossing of old and new, big and small. The globalized 21st century using its clout to try and reverse the effects of globalization. I find it ironic-- yet somehow I like-- that the principles of the global organization suggest a return to traditional and local ways of living, while the organization enforces these principles with all of the tools of the 21st century.

Theres plenty of things that could make you worry about the future... but I don't like doing that much. If this is the kind of thing that the future could provide, then I'm excited about what's to come.