Slow Communities Are the Smartest Communities

The concept of “slow” is taking on new meaning. Its new use is probably best known in conjunction with the “Slow Food” movement, which is defined in Wikipedia as follows: “Slow Food...strives to preserve traditional and regional cuisine and promotes farming of plants, seeds and livestock characteristic of the local ecosystem.” There are organizations dedicated to spreading the concept, some with an international focus and others with a focus on a particular country, such as Slow Food USA.

Recently, I heard about another variation on this approach, called “Slow Money.” This concept, promoted by the Slow Money Alliance, is described as follows: “Founded by Woody Tasch, a pioneer in merging investing and philanthropy, Slow Money’s mission is to build local and national networks, and develop new financial products and services, dedicated to investing in small food enterprises and local food systems; connecting investors to their local economies; and, building the nurture capital industry.”

Wikipedia also has a list of other slow movements, such as “Slow Travel,” “Slow Art” and even “Slow Parenting!” As you scratch deeper in all these slow movements, you find that they are also about connecting people with local resources or with other local people, taking the time to relish the local assets of a place or a food, savoring the process of creativity, and generally being more proactive and thoughtful about what we do, say and choose. For those of us immersed in the world of ideas and writing, we should adhere to the concept of Slow Blogging, first articulated by Barbara Ganley, and later by others.

But what about Slow Communities? (I can just hear the jokes equating slow with dumb... “Yeah, I live in a slow community. So much for my SAT scores!”) Well, they’re about as dumb as that little food movement, which, since 1989, has garnered over 100,000 members in 132 countries. Slow Communiteis are, in fact, the wisest; they are the ones to follow. So how do you know a Slow Community when you see one? Wikipedia doesn’t have a definition yet (note to self), so here goes:

A Slow Community is one that takes the time to know itself, engages its citizens widely, listens to new as well as old voices, and works deeply through issues to find common ground until it can articulate its essential character, its Heart & Soul; it evidences a willingness to reject development that is fast, careless, uninspiring and destructive, and shows a commitment to its legacy and its citizens by proactively charting and maintaining a pathway for long-term, sustainable growth that respects its past and present, while fostering a vibrant and enduring future.

One of our mottos is “go slow to go fast.” By this we mean that if communities take pains to be more inclusive, dig deep and really listen, they will have greater success articulating and implementing their vision(s) because fewer disgruntled people will vote the process down or sue, which invariably sets the process back for years and cranks up the financial costs of defending the decisions in court.

I see that others have ruminated on a similar concept, including Nancy White who founded her blog Full Circle Associates in 1997 and who regularly writes about Slow Communities. Do I sense a start of a movement, a sea-change, a paradigm shift? Call it what you will, but something’s happening.

Maybe there is a better catch phrase. Should we call them “Deep Communities?” Or maybe time and the continued use of the word “slow” as it pertains to wisdom and strength (as opposed to thick-headedness) will bring people around to the recognition that Slow Communities are precisely what this country needs more of.

If you want more guidance on how to become a slow community, visit www.slowcommunity.org. And how about adding to or refining my definition of the term in a comment to this post, or suggesting a name that could catch fire, spread and revitalize community planning nationwide? Ready... Set... Slow!

Image: http://thebsreport.wordpress.com/