An ecovillage is a traditional or intentional community that aims to become more socially, culturally, economically and/or environmentally sustainable. An ecovillage strives to have the least possible negative impact on the natural environment through the intentional physical design and behavioural choices of its inhabitants. It is consciously designed through locally owned, participatory processes to regenerate and restore its social and natural environments. Most range from a population of 50 to 250 individuals, although some are smaller, and traditional ecovillages are often much larger. Larger ecovillages often exist as networks of smaller sub-communities. Some ecovillages have grown through like-minded individuals, families, or other small groups—who are not members, at least at the outset—settling on the ecovillage's periphery and participating de facto in the community. There are currently more than 10,000 ecovillages around the world.
Ludlow is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It is located 28 miles (45 km) south of Shrewsbury and 23 miles (37 km) north of Hereford, on the A49 road which bypasses the town. The town is near the confluence of the rivers Corve and Teme.
Aylsham is a historic market town and civil parish on the River Bure in north Norfolk, England, nearly 9 mi (14 km) north of Norwich. The river rises near Melton Constable, 11 miles (18 km) upstream from Aylsham and continues to Great Yarmouth and the North Sea, although it was only made navigable after 1779, allowing grain, coal and timber to be brought up river.
Slow Food is an organization that promotes local food and traditional cooking. It was founded by Carlo Petrini in Italy in 1986 and has since spread worldwide. Promoted as an alternative to fast food, it strives to preserve traditional and regional cuisine and encourages farming of plants, seeds, and livestock characteristic of the local ecosystem. It promotes local small businesses and sustainable foods. It also focuses on food quality, rather than quantity. It was the first established part of the broader slow movement. It speaks out against overproduction and food waste. It sees globalization as a process in which small and local farmers and food producers should be simultaneously protected from and included in the global food system.
Eco-gastronomy is an approach to alternative consumption that stresses the importance of the interaction between humans and food and the effect produced by that. It aims to get a healthier and more sustainable food and, at the same time, to reduce the impact on the environment, from the productive and the consumptive side.
Urbanism is the study of how inhabitants of urban areas, such as towns and cities, interact with the built environment. It is a direct component of disciplines such as urban planning, a profession focusing on the design and management of urban areas, and urban sociology, an academic field which studies urban life.
Food engineering is a scientific, academic, and professional field that interprets and applies principles of engineering, science, and mathematics to food manufacturing and operations, including the processing, production, handling, storage, conservation, control, packaging and distribution of food products. Given its reliance on food science and broader engineering disciplines such as electrical, mechanical, civil, chemical, industrial and agricultural engineering, food engineering is considered a multidisciplinary and narrow field.
The slow movement is a cultural initiative that advocates for a reduction in the pace of modern life, encouraging individuals to embrace a more thoughtful and deliberate approach to their daily activities.
Seferihisar is a municipality and district of İzmir Province, Turkey. Its area is 375 km2, and its population is 54,993 (2022). Seferihisar district area borders on other İzmir districts of Urla to the west and Menderes to the east, and touches İzmir's westernmost metropolitan district of Güzelbahçe in the north. Seferihisar town center is situated slightly inland at an altitude of 28 m and the urban area extends towards the Aegean Sea. The neighborhood Sığacık has its own port and made a name as a tourism resort. The wide area of the district center partly accounts for the high number of the population and an urbanization rate of only 51%, and the general impression observed is rather rural in some of its sections. Both the center town and the district as a whole preserves an overall outlook of a pleasant resort area bearing typical Aegean characteristics and it is estimated the population reaches the level of 150,000 people during the touristic season. Nevertheless, the district's economy is still largely based on agriculture, with the production of tangerines and satsumas standing out, and only increasingly on tourism, with the presence of several housing projects or vacation villages, pensioners opting to settle in the region due to its quiet charm and under the impetus of a university campus that is in phase of being built. At a distance of 45 km (28 mi) from İzmir center, (Konak), the connections with the metropolis are made easily, especially once reached the six-lane highway in Urla. Seferihisar is where the ancient city of Teos is located and its highly interesting await further research and discoveries. The district's literacy level is 99%.
ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability is an international non-governmental organization that promotes sustainable development. ICLEI provides technical consulting to local governments to identify and meet sustainability objectives. It has a strong focus on biodiversity and has worked across local, national, and global levels. ICLEI was the first and is the largest transnational network of local governments engaging in climate action.
The University of Gastronomic Sciences (UNISG) is an international university located in northern Italy. The campus is in Pollenzo, near Bra, a city in the north-west region of Piedmont. Carlo Petrini, founder of the Slow Food Movement, established the university to focus on gastronomic sciences and the organic relationships between food, ecology, and cultures. More than 2,500 students have taken courses at UNISG since it opened in 2004. UNISG offers a variety of courses leading to undergraduate and graduate degrees in areas related to gastronomic sciences, food cultures and heritage, food ecologies, and food communications and management. As part of their curriculum, students every year are engaged in a number of field study trips in Italy and also in other European and extra-European countries.
The terms transition town, transition initiative and transition model refer to grassroot community projects that aim to increase self-sufficiency to reduce the potential effects of peak oil, climate destruction, and economic instability through renewed localization strategies, especially around food production and energy usage. In 2005, the founding of Transition Town Totnes in the United Kingdom became an inspiration for other groups to form. The Transition Network charity was founded in early 2007, to support these projects. A number of the groups are officially registered with the Transition Network. Transition initiatives have been started in locations around the world, with many located in the United Kingdom and others in Europe, North America and Australia. While the aims remain the same, Transition initiatives' solutions are specific depending on the characteristics of the local area.
Slow architecture is a term believed to have grown from the slow food movement of the mid-1980s. Slow architecture is generally architecture that is created gradually and organically, as opposed to building it quickly for short-term goals. It is often combined with an ecological, environmentally sustainable approach.
Douglas Gayeton is an American multimedia artist, filmmaker, writer, and photographer with ties to farming in Sonoma County, California and photography in Pistoia, a medieval Tuscan town in North Central Italy.
Djúpivogur is a small town and former municipality located on a peninsula in the Austurland region in eastern Iceland, near the island of Papey and on the fjord Berufjörður. The municipality was formed by the merger of rural communities Berunes, Buland, and Geithellur on October 1, 1992. The coastline consists of three fjords Berufjörður, Hamarsfjörður, and Álftafjörður. The town of Djúpivogur is located on a peninsula between Berufjörður and Hamarsfjörður.
Slow living is a lifestyle which encourages a slower approach to aspects of everyday life, involving completing tasks at a leisurely pace. The origins of this lifestyle are linked to the Italian slow food movement, which emphasised traditional food production techniques in response to the emerging popularity of fast food during the 1980s and 1990s. The lifestyle and movement were heavily influenced by Carlo Petrini, who founded the organization Slow Food in 1986. The organisation continues to promote local, traditional and high-quality food. The lifestyle Slow living encompasses a wide variety of sub-categories, such as slow money and slow cities, which are proposed as solutions to the negative environmental consequences of capitalism and consumerism in alignment with the aims of the green movement.
Fuli is a town located in Fuchuan Yao Autonomous County of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. Centering on the Immortal Lake Ecological Park, the town is around 90-square-kilometre (35 sq mi) in size and has jurisdiction over 12 village committees, 31 natural villages and 8680 households with a population of 49,318. Cittaslow, an Italian organization, has recently certified Fuli town as the first "international slow city" in Guangxi and the fourth in China. Before that, Fuchuan had been vigorously promoting tourism by developing rural home inns and eco-villages and making the best of unique local resources.
Slow fashion is an aspect of sustainable fashion and a concept antithetical to fast fashion. It is part of the "slow movement" advocating for clothing and apparel manufactured with respect to people, the environment and animals. As such, contrary to the industrial practices of fast fashion conglomerates, slow fashion involves local artisans and the use of eco-friendly materials.
Mustafa Tunç Soyer is a Turkish politician from the Republican People's Party (CHP) who served as the Mayor of İzmir from 2019 to 2024. He previously served as the mayor of Seferihisar, a coastal district of İzmir, from 2009 to 2019.
Slow tourism is an alternative tourism choice in contrast to mass tourism. Slow tourism is a part of the sustainable tourism family, different from mainstream tourism and emphasizing the tourist’s greater personal awareness. It is characterized by reducing mobility and by taking time to explore local history and culture, while supporting the environment. The concept emerged from the Italian Slow Food movement and the Cittaslow movement.
