Social Resilience in Aegean Slow Cities: Slow City Seferihisar

Abstract

Being open to global processes brings up the question of social resilience in Slow Cities, which is about the ability of the system to absorb shocks without experiencing changes [1]. Since these cities are inevitably affected by global flows and ideas, how will they be able to protect their identity? In this regard, Scott (2013) [1] defines two types of resilience: equilibrium and evolutionary resilience. Equilibrium resilience is about going back to normal, whereas evolutionary resilience is about adaptability and creating long term innovative planning and policy responses to change; embracing change and utilizing it as a path forward that needs to be embedded in social networks [1]. This paper proposes that evolutionary resilience is the key for sustainable growth of Slow Cities within a progressive framework and explores possible barriers and solutions to achieve evolutionary resilience for slow cities. The paper examines Aegean Slow Cities with a specific emphasis on Seferihisar, the first Cittaslow of Turkey as a case study