Cittaslow cities in the context and discussions of sustainable local development and urban ecology: Case study of Izmir Seferihisar

This study introduces a new perspective to Cittaslow cities in the light of critical urban theories. Under the leadership of four little cities' mayors in Italy, Cittaslow is founded in 1999. Its main purpose is to preserve local cultures and natural assets of cities and it aims at using these values as a means of local sustainable development. Therefore, the sustainable development principles constituted by the United Nations are recognized by Cittaslow as its own development principles. One of these principles is to make local and traditional elements sustainable so that the destruction brought out on cities by everyday life and globalization can be counteracted. (On the other hand), tourism acts as an accelerator of urban destruction in cities of less developed countries. Besides, primitive accumulation and gentrification plays important roles in these (destructive) processes. In essence, this study analyzes Cittaslow cities where tourism stands out from Seferihisar example, being the first Cittaslow city of Turkey. In Seferihisar, discourses and practices on sustainable local development and ecology are particularly highlighted. Cittaslow implementations which are bureaucratically planned and being applied with a top-down approach by local authorities cannot propose plausible solutions for less developed countries. Besides, these implementations become new practices which reproduce and deepen existent contradictions in these cities. The main reason for contradictions is that Cittaslow does not have a critical standpoint against capitalism even though it claims that it is against globalization. Moreover, the political economy restructured under the name of neoliberalism fabricates a structured space and this process takes place in Seferihisar. With 11 years of Cittaslow experience in Seferihisar, it is seen that local life and structures cannot be independent of their own environments. It is also shown that the city is restructured in concordance with the capital accumulation regime of the cities and that ecological destruction has deepened over time.