Socio-economic development of small towns in the Polish Cittaslow Network — A case study

Senetra, Adam; Szarek-Iwaniuk, Patrycja

doi:10.1016/j.cities.2020.102758

Cited by 35 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…In its original meaning, renewal is a process that is intended (ESF), creates such financial framework for local and regional authorities. The region of Warmia and Mazury plays a key role in the Polish Cittaslow network [43][44][45][46][47], as 23 out of 32 associated towns are located in this voivodeship. To manage public investments in that area in an integrated approach, the Supra-Local Revitalization Program of the Network of Cittaslow Cities for 2014-2020 (SLRP) was adopted in 2015 [48,49].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Revitalization of Public Spaces in Cittaslow Towns: Recent Urban Redevelopment in Central Europe

et al. 2021

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Revitalization of cities varies depending on the scale of a city, type of challenges, and the socio-environmental context in each case. While revitalization projects carried out in globally known cities are well described, there is still a gap in characterizing revitalization processes that aim to improve quality of life in smaller units like medium-sized towns. This paper fills this gap by the insight from 82 revitalization projects implemented in 14 towns of Warmia and Mazury region (Poland) which are associated in the Cittaslow movement. The study combines a quantitative assessment of statistical data describing these projects with their qualitative evaluation based on interviews with local experts. The results of conducted analyses show that socio-economic development plays a major role as, despite projects which directly refer to the social domain, social elements were found also in projects initially categorized as those targeted to architectural and spatial domains. On the other hand, the authors observed that environmental and ecological as well as cultural issues are treated unevenly or marginally in projects compared to social ones. Interviews with experts show that the least importance was assigned to cultural and historical domain. The obtained results might constitute important knowledge to understand the background of current revitalization processes outside of global metropolises to improve future mechanisms supporting urban renewal.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Revitalization of Public Spaces in Cittaslow Towns: Recent Urban Redevelopment in Central Europe

et al. 2021

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“…Existing research on Cittaslow mainly focuses on specific examples and/or resilience issues, and has shown that small towns and their surrounding areas can benefit from joining international networks (Senetra & Szarek-Iwaniuk, 2020). How was it possible to establish such a new idea for local development?…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Slowing down’ in small and medium-sized towns: Cittaslow in Germany and Italy from a social innovation perspective

Sept

2021

Regional Studies, Regional Science

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Smaller towns in rural regions are important anchors for regional development, but they are not usually considered particularly innovative and open to new ideas. This paper asks how the network of small and medium-sized towns, Cittaslow, could establish slowing down as something new in local development. Against the theoretical background of sociological innovation research, an analytical framework of social innovation is elaborated to analyse Cittaslow using four case studies: two German and two Italian towns. Based on fieldwork in the four towns, this paper shows that discourse and communication on slowing down, local projects labelled as slow and new cooperation structures go hand in hand. This leads to the conclusion that new ways of local development need a communicative umbrella under which projects and stakeholders come together. The paper furthermore demonstrates that the analytical framework, with its triad of semantics, pragmatics and grammar, is extremely helpful for analysing spatial development and has the potential to be adapted as a tool for policy strategies.

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“…The inhabitants of small towns have a valuable social capital that is virtually impossible to build in large urban centers: a deep sense of belonging to a place of residence that implies strong social ties and the ability to cooperate because "participation and engagement are the life and promise of the city" ([2], p.110). Such an attitude produces a synergistic effect While research on the socio-economic situation of Polish Cittaslow towns is conducted [43,[59][60][61][62], the urban and architectural approach to the quality of urban space has been discussed in the literature only to a limited extent [55,57]. Therefore the purpose of the work is study the architectural and urban attractiveness of cultural qualities of coastal towns that are members of the Cittaslow network filling the research gap.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Architectural and Urban Attractiveness of Small Towns: A Case Study of Polish Coastal Cittaslow Towns on the Pomeranian Way of St. James

Zawadzka

2021

Land

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The paper presents the results of a study on the attractiveness to tourists and natives of the cultural qualities of coastal towns on The Pomeranian Way of St. James that are members of the Cittaslow network. Attention to the quality of urban life is inscribed in the development policies of towns applying to join the Cittaslow movement. In order to join the network (apart from the size criterion), towns need to meet a minimum of 50% plus one of the 72 criteria grouped into seven categories. One of the category is Quality of Urban Life Policy, so the towns applying to join Cittaslow commit themselves to actions aimed at improving the quality of urban life. The study on the attractiveness of cultural qualities of towns to tourists and natives was conducted using the author’s BRB method, whose added value is its universality and the possibility to study small towns regardless of their membership in the Cittaslow network. BRB is an acronym that stands for BUILDINGS, RELATIONSHIPS, BALANCE, and comprises three scopes of activities: BUILDINGS (iconic building and important sites where the inhabitants and the tourists are present); RELATIONSHIPS (the visual effects of the relations between the inhabitants and the town) and BALANCE (solutions that implement modern technologies). This method enables identification of places that are important to the inhabitants, where urban life takes place and which are often created with the involvement of the inhabitants. These are often the same spaces as those that attract tourists and perhaps stimulate them the desire to visit the town again (BRB—be right back). The aim of the BRB method is shown the attractiveness of small towns. The study has shown that the characteristic feature of Polish Cittaslow towns is their diversity: the architectural attractiveness of three towns is high both to tourists and natives. On the other hand, the urban attractiveness of the examined towns is an insufficient.

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Socio-economic development of small towns in the Polish Cittaslow Network — A case study

Cited by 35 publications

References 25 publications

Revitalization of Public Spaces in Cittaslow Towns: Recent Urban Redevelopment in Central Europe

Revitalization of Public Spaces in Cittaslow Towns: Recent Urban Redevelopment in Central Europe

‘Slowing down’ in small and medium-sized towns: Cittaslow in Germany and Italy from a social innovation perspective

Architectural and Urban Attractiveness of Small Towns: A Case Study of Polish Coastal Cittaslow Towns on the Pomeranian Way of St. James

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