The social, economic and environmental effects of cittaslow approach in the context of sustainable local development: The case of Şavşat district

The aim of this study is to determine the effects of Cittaslow on sustainable local development in the example of Şavşat District, based on the perspective of local people and interest groups and observations made in the district. Within the scope of the research carried out with the mixed method, questionnaires were applied to 274 people from the local people in the district, in-depth interviews were made with a total of 33 people from 4 stakeholder groups and observations were made during the district field visits. IBM SPSS Statistics 20 and Maxqda 2020 programs were used for the analysis of questionnaires and in-depth interviews. According to the results of the research, it has been seen that Cittaslow positively affected the sustainable local development of Şavşat in social, economic and environmental aspects but this effect is still at a medium level. Socially, it has been seen that Cittaslow mostly contributes to promotion of the district, adds value to the district, and encourages the preservation of traditions, customs, historical and cultural values. Economically, it has been understood that Cittaslow mostly contributed to the tourism, there has been an increase in the production and marketing opportunities of local products in the district and the number of women entrepreneurs has increased. Environmentally, it has been seen that with Cittaslow, the natural texture of the district is tried to be preserved, the local architecture is supported, the biological diversity and natural resources of the district are tried to be protected more and the awareness of environmental protection among the people has increased. In order to increase the positive effects of the Cittaslow approach on the sustainable local development of Şavşat in terms of variety and level of impact; it is important to make and implement plans for the entire district in line with the Cittaslow criteria and with a participatory understanding, to make an effort to ensure that the title is sufficiently owned by the all public and to continue the inter-institutional cooperation and works exhibited in the process of obtaining the title.