Going slow to build resilience: Learning from Cheongsando and Cittaslow in Korea

Abstract

CENTRAL THEME: Planning for Community Resilience. Much of Korea's rapid economic and social development has focused on urbanization, industrialization, and globalization. With growing prosperity and increased democratization, there have also been demands to better balance environmental quality, public health, cultural heritage, social welfare and development. These challenges are particularly apparent in rural areas where chronic stressors such as depopulation, lack of investment, and limited political capital have contributed to decline, exacerbating social inequities.APPROACH: Using a combination of quantitative and qualitative data, interviews, and field investigations, we investigate a small, remote island community in South Jeolla province, part of Wando County, known as Cheongsando (Green Mountain Island). A focus on small islands provides uniqueopportunities to examine natural, physical, and social processes across time and space (Pelling and Uitto, J., 2011). Cheongsando was the first community in Asia in 2007 to be designated as a “slow city” by the international Cittaslow organization (http://www.cittaslow.org/). Initiated by mayors in Italy protesting globalization, with linkages to the slow food movement, Cittaslow emphasizes quality of life, heritage tourism, and healthy lifestyles (Pink and Lewis, 2014). There are now several hundred Cittaslow communities across the world.We study the Cittaslow designation process and trace its indicator-based implementation in Korea by first examining Cheongsando and then comparing it to other communities in Korea and elsewhere. We integrate analysis of quantitative and qualitative data from interviews and site visits. FINDINGS: Of particular interest is the investment in planning, transportation infrastructure (Kim, Francis and Yamashita, 2018), sustainable economic activities, and the connections between food security, agriculture, and communityresilience. This small community with a resident population has approximately 400,000 visitors annually, with many coming for special events such as the “SlowWalk Festival.”RELEVANCE: Our analysis highlights the value of planning, the necessity of strategic investments, communications, and demonstrating the benefits and returns to the community.There are on-going challenges with managing growth (and success), sustaining progress and adapting to change. Our analysis centerson both the measurement and appropriate use of data and indicators of success and also the construction and meaning of resilience. Our research provides insights not just in terms of the Korean experience, but to other communities grappling with rapid change, economic development and going slow in the face of the “resilience imperative” (NRC, 2012).