Cittaslow Network Updates Its International Charter: What's New in 2026

On 20 June 2026, the Cittaslow International Assembly approved a new version of the Charter, updating the 2023 text in light of the challenges and opportunities that have emerged in recent years.

A New Manifesto for the 21st Century

The most significant addition is the "21st Century Cittaslow Manifesto," which now stands alongside the historic 1999 Manifesto and the Charter Document. The new text is built around three keywords — Limit, Local, Community — and unfolds in 15 points that reaffirm the Network's identity as an alternative model to accelerated development, one capable of combining technology, sustainability and proximity into a truly human-scale vision of cities.

More Up-to-Date Excellence Requirements

Attachment C, which sets out the certification requirements, has also been expanded to reflect today's most pressing issues:

• environmental policy now includes planning and management of climate change interventions;

• infrastructure policy becomes "Infrastructure and Mobility Policies," with new indicators on sustainable and low-emission mobility (modal share);

• urban quality of life now covers broadband coverage and the spread of smart working, reflecting growing attention to the digital transformation of local communities;

• agricultural, tourism and craft policies gain new criteria on agro-ecology and the recovery of productive green areas;

• the social cohesion chapter adopts more positive, inclusive language, with a new indicator on childcare services (0-6 years).

  
  

Requirements are also no longer labelled "obligatory" but "priority" — a terminological shift that reflects a more flexible approach while still keeping quality standards high.

A Consolidated Structure

The Network's institutional framework remains unchanged — the Assembly, the Coordinating Committee, the Presidency, the Board of Guarantors, the Scientific Committee — as do the founding principles that have guided the movement of Towns of Good Living since 1999.

With this update, Cittaslow International confirms its ability to evolve while staying true to its identity: a balance between tradition and innovation that is, in the end, the very essence of the slow philosophy.

Click here to read the new charter