Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

Cittaslow is an international organization founded in Italy in 1999 by a few towns in Northern Italy, in order to stop the trend of people moving to bigger cities. The aim was to show the advantages of small towns and to strengthen their identities. Falköping is, since the certification in the summer 2008, the first Cittaslow in Sweden. Cittaslow is an international organization founded in Italy in 1999 by a few towns in Northern Italy, in order to stop the trend of people moving to bigger cities. The aim was to show the advantages of small towns and to strengthen their identities. Falköping is, since the certification in the summer 2008, the first Cittaslow in Sweden. This thesis presents an analysis of the Cittaslow movement, how it works in practice and how Cittaslow has been used in Falköping. Additionally, the influence of Cittaslow on the identity of the town, is studied. It has been a long process for Falköping to become a member of Cittaslow, a process that started with the idea of coming up with a new trade mark for Falköping. The study is based on interviews with people at the municipality of Falköping concerning the process of becoming a member of Cittaslow. The analysis of Falköping's work with the Cittaslow concept is primarily based on two different theoretical perspectives: Cittaslow as an alternative urban development strategy and Cittaslow as place marketing. There are some difficulties in using the Cittaslow concept, since the criteria are not adjusted to Swedish conditions. The study of Falköping shows that the Cittaslow philosophy rather than the criteria makes a solid ground for the town's work for positive development. This thesis presents an analysis of the Cittaslow movement, how it works in practice and how Cittaslow has been used in Falköping. Additionally, the influence of Cittaslow on the identity of the town, is studied. It has been a long process for Falköping to become a member of Cittaslow, a process that started with the idea of coming up with a new trade mark for Falköping. The study is based on interviews with people at the municipality of Falköping concerning the process of becoming a member of Cittaslow. The analysis of Falköping's work with the Cittaslow concept is primarily based on two different theoretical perspectives: Cittaslow as an alternative urban development strategy and Cittaslow as place marketing. There are some difficulties in using the Cittaslow concept, since the criteria are not adjusted to Swedish conditions. The study of Falköping shows that the Cittaslow philosophy rather than the criteria makes a solid ground for the town's work for positive development.

Cittaslow är en internationell organisation som grundades i Italien 1999 av några
norditalienska städer, för att hindra den hotande avfolkningen genom att visa på
den lilla stadens fördelar och stärka dess identitet. Falköping är Sveriges första
Cittaslow och blev under sommaren 2008 medlem i nätverket. Detta examensarbete
utgör en diskussion om hur Cittaslow kan tolkas, vad det kan innebära i
praktiken samt hur det har fungerat i Falköping. Arbetet behandlar även hur Cittaslow
påverkar en stads identitet. Falköpings arbete för medlemskap i Cittaslow har
varit en lång process och började med idén om att ta fram ett nytt varumärke för
kommunen. Denna uppsats bygger till stor del på intervjuer med tjänstemän på
Falköpings kommun gällande i första hand ansökningsprocessen och kommunens
arbete för att bli en Cittaslow. En analys av Falköpings arbete har gjorts utifrån två
teoretiska utgångspunkter: Cittaslow som en stadsutvecklingsmetod och Cittaslow
som platsmarknadsföring. Det finns vissa svårigheter med att använda sig av konceptet
Cittaslow i Sverige i och med att kriterierna inte är anpassade för svenska
förhållanden. Studien av Falköping tyder på att Cittaslows grundläggande filosofi
snarare än kriterierna ger kommunen en bra utgångspunkt i arbetet för att få en
positiv utveckling i kommunen.