Showing posts with label Cittaslow. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cittaslow. Show all posts

Monday, July 12, 2010

Seven Commandments For Cittaslow Visitors

Came across this article from the JoongAng Daily which reported how the Cittaslow Movement wasn't really working out for the local population. Hordes of tourists who descend on such villages create jammed roads and piles of rubbish, amongst other problems.

So here are unfriendly but necessary rules I'd recommend to protect the slow lifestyle of Jeungdo under threat:

1. Thou shalt forsake thy private transport. ( leave your car at home; walk or hire a bike instead).

2. Thou shalt not covet the fruit of thy Cittaslow neighbour's labour. ( in short, don't pinch the farmers' produce!)

3. Thou shalt not be led into temptation and submit to your nicotine addiction.( Please don't stink up the air with your ciggies!)

4. Thou shalt bear the burden of any rubbish you have and carry it home. ( the limited resources of these places can't cope with the litter left by visitors)

5. Honour the privacy and respect the property of those who dwell in the Cittaslow homes. ( please don't turn them into prisoners in their own home).

6. Thou shalt practise forbearance and suffer patiently the slower service. ( after all, you did come for a slower pace of life, right? )

7. Remember the commandments for the National Parks and keep these places holy and inviolate as well ( ie. take nothing but photos, leave nothing but footprints).

BTW, If anyone can suggest three more rules  to make a complete set of commandments, I'd be grateful!

UPDATE: Comment from Aaron McKenzie ( thanks!)

I saw this article, too. I had to laugh, though, because in the very same issue of the Joong Ang, was an article about the new "slow lifestyle" movement which containted this quote:



"Businesses that aim to enrich living spaces also stand to gain from this trend. The recently designated “slow city” of Jeung Island boasts large expanses of mud flats, salt fields and wetlands."

So, on the same day, the Joong Ang reports on how folks on Jeungdo are complaining about too many damned tourists...and then the paper essentially recommends that folks go have a look at the place.

sources:
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2923048
http://www.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_4_12_15_4.jsp
http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=815540