Kristiinankaupunki (Kristinestad) is now officially laid back

Kristiinankaupunki is the first Finnish town to be chosen to join the international Cittaslow network. Cittaslow emphasizes an unhurried lifestyle, uniqueness, respect for the locality as well as humanity, environmental friendliness and sustainable development.

– For us Cittaslow is both a recognition of the spirit and quality of life in Kristiinankaupunki, and also a significant step in our town’s development.  In our application we emphasized, among other things, the Old Town’s historic, well-preserved and idyllic blocks of wooden houses, explains Lady Mayoress Riitta El-Nemr.

The network comprises towns with fewer than 50,000 inhabitants that consciously promote a good quality of life and sustainable development.  Before  a town is accepted by Cittaslow it is assessed according to six criteria which are the environment, the infrastructure, hospitality, town planning, local production and products as well as commitment to the Cittaslow philosophy.
 
– This membership is a resource for attracting both new inhabitants, new jobs and visitors.  Our relaxed lifestyle will continue but so too will development. We particularly want to support our inhabitants’ well-being by integrating technology with a good quality of life.  It is important also to gather and share experiences with other Cittaslow towns, continues Mrs El-Nemr.

Kristiinankaupunki is the sixth Nordic Cittaslow town.  Previously membership has been awarded to Sokndal, Eidsskog and Levanger in Norway, to Falköping in Sweden and to Svendborg in Denmark.

Founded in Italy in 1999, the philosophy behind the Cittaslow movement is based on sustainable development and a good quality of life while cultivating ecology and tradition.  So far membership has been awarded to 143 towns in 23 countries.

News from: http://www.goodnewsfinland.com/archive/kristiinankaupunki-is-now-officia...

More information on homepage for Nordic network Cittaslow:
http://www.cittaslow.com/home/cittaslow_har_redan_lockat_bes_kare_till_k...
http://www.cittaslow.com/home/presseinformasjon_kristinestad.html