Cittaslow: Going Glocal in Spain

Concerns about the long-term effects of development based on pro-growth capitalism and the perceived homogenizing effects of globalization have given rise to movements, such as Cittaslow (the Slow City movement), that promote alternative strategies. These movements, which exist primarily in smaller cities and towns, focus on locality, the ordinariness of place, and sustainable, homegrown economies. We make two related arguments. First, we argue that the experiences of Cittaslow towns in Spain lend support to the thesis that globalization does not always lead to a homogenized world in which the local and the global are pitted against each other in a battle of good vs. evil. Rather, Cittaslow towns actively exploit the interpenetration of the global and the local. Second, we build on this argument to show how the ways that Cittaslow towns develop through a relationship between the local and the global challenges the neoliberal assumption that growth is the key to successful development through initiatives that foster intercity competition.