AN ANALYSIS OF THE SLOW CITY MOVEMENT IN THE CONTEXT OF LANDSCAPE INDICATORS: A NEW CRITERIA PROPOSAL

The research aims to identify new landscape indicators assessing the physical characteristics and structure of the “slow cities” identified by the Slow City (Cittaslow) Movement. The movement currently includes about 300 (297 in 2023) cities from all around the world, and agrees to work on a set of goals/criteria. Although these criteria mostly highlight the unique values of the cities, they are not enough to provide an accurate evaluation of the space/land. This situation puts slow cities, once they receive the designation, in a redundant position to compete with large cities in terms of their recognition, and tourism potential, and as a result of this it poses a threat to the cities’ original values. The paper proposes new criteria based on landscape indicators (critical parameters to evaluate the physical conditions of the landscape) to assess the spatial characteristics of nominated cities in Turkey, using comprehensive surveys. The surveys were conducted both in Turkey and the US states of Washington and Oregon, with samples of expert studies in the spatial planning area. According to the surveys’ strengths in the statistical power test, the index value of landscape indicators was determined, when the relevant landscape indicators were reviewed. As a result, new criteria at two different scales (macro and micro) were proposed to be included in the assessment system of the Cittaslow Movement.