A Slow City Movement: the Case of Halfeti in Turkey

Abstract

In today's world where globalization is increasing, many cities cannot ada pt to rapid changes. The changing lifestyles of the inhabitants of the city cause a rapid loss of urban differences and originalities. Several movements have emerged to solve these problems. One of these movements is the slow city movement proposed for a better environment and social life. The slow city movement sets out the parameters that ensure the viability of cities, which give importance to the continuity of the improvement of social, economic, cultural and environmental qualities. This movement, which strives for the preservation of originality against the impact of globalization, has a great importance in order to increase the quality of urban life. The aim of this work is to identify the strengths and weaknesses of sustainable development of the slow city declared places, and to identify the threats and opportunities that can be faced. In this way, targets and strategies for the sustainability of the desired criteria for cities declared as slow cities can be determined. In the study, environmental analysis and situation analysis were carried out by observation and inventory collection method in Halfeti province of Urfa declared as slow city. The local people and tourists who visited the area were interviewed and SWOT analysis was conducted by brainstorming method. The district of Halfeti consists of two regions. The old Halfeti area is a very old settlement; some of the buildings it contains are under the waters of the Euphrates, in the appearance of an open-air museum. The new Halfeti is a region formed with non-specific regulations and illegal and distorted building is seen intensively. With the declaration of Halfeti as a slow city, the tourism movements have begun to accelerate. As a result of this study, it has been determined that this region with historical and natural beauty has been caught unprepared for tourism development. For this reason, it is necessary to prioritize rehabilitation efforts in the region and prepare action plans for the new Halfeti settlement. The conclusion is that Halfeti's unique identity values should be promoted on a global scale and protected as cultural heritage. It is expected that the results obtained in the study will also be a road map for other slow cities similar to Halfeti.