The thesis introduces chosen initiatives that reflect the changing atmosphere and social values of population in the economically well-developed part of the world. The change in the social values is a consequence of deepening socio-cultural and economic interdependence of the regions and the cities in the globalised world. Main presumptions of successful implementation of the initiatives are analysed in order to confront it with the environment of the Czech cities. The main objective of the thesis is an evaluation of the readiness for the usage of these new initiatives in the current Czech city development. There is a visible change in social values among the Czech population under way, however that is typical for its hedonic character. Most of the presumptions are more or less fulfilled with the regional differences. Some of the initiatives have even already been successfully implemented with the positive impact on the environment. Therefore further involvement of similar initiatives could be expected in the future.

I studien undersöks det hur teorier från slow food och slow fashion genom olika designprocesser kan överföras till nya produktkategorier, i detta fall har möbler valts ut som kategori. Syftet med denna studie har varit skapa medvetenhet och synliggöra möjligheter för produktdesigners att arbeta med slow principer i kombination med kritisk design på nya produktkategorier. Detta för att främja hållbar utveckling och vår miljö. Det teoretiska ramverket ligger som grund för studien och innefattar slow fashion, Slow food, kritisk design och slow design. Som metoder har det bland annat samlats in information genom funktionsanalys, fokusgrupper och intervjuer.Resultatet blev en hylla vars hyllplan monteras på i takt med att dess ramar i form av träd växer. Detta ska skapa ett kritiskt tänkande hos betraktaren angående snabb produktion och miljön. / The study examines how theories of slow food and slow fashion can be transferred to new product categories through different design processes. In this case furniture has been selected as a category. The purpose of this study is to create awareness and make opportunities visible for product designers to work with slow principles in combination with critical design on new product categories. This is to encourage sustainable development and benefit our environment. The theoretical framework forms the basis of the study and includes slow fashion, slow food, critical design and slow design. As methods, among other things, information has been collected through function analysis, focus groups and interviews.The result is a shelf whose shelves are mounted on progressively as its frame in the form of trees grows. This should create a critical thinking on the part of the viewer regarding fast production and the environment.

The biology and the patterns of wild environments and their organisms have solutions to the many environmental, social and economical challenges that we are facing globally. As an emerging designer, I believe that the tendencies of the ecological environments can be analyzed, mimicked and implemented by designers into different socio-cultural systems. In my design process I have been exploring practices that promote food sovereignty as a right that every living being should have. The results of my exploration is a guide to help to learn about and from wild edibles to deepen our connection with nature. My design includes my own process and iteration as well as one designed for those who are interested in exploring foraging practices.This project recognizes the different spheres and complexities of sustainability. It analyzes how our cultural and social practices impact the ecological environment, while, at the same time, it brings practical examples to understand the effects that our economy has on the overall well-being of the ecology, and suggests that we all can be beneficial participants as and in nature.The title “We grow wild” refers to the plants, which grow wildly in parks, hedgerows, paths and forests, as well as it encourages to rediscover the wild nature that re-emerges in us through active participation in the ecological environment we inhabit.

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This thesis explores if and how an alternative certification system for agricultural products, the Participatory Guarantee System (PGS), could support small-scale farmers to preserve and promote biocultural and food heritage, linked to the landscape they inhabit, their identity as farmers and traditional knowledge. The PGS has been identified by Slow Food as an efficient low-cost and local 'bottom-up' quality assurance system, in order to develop their Presidia project and to re-embed agricultural productions within their traditional socio-ecological contexts. Small-holder farmers all over the world encounter problems in accessing conventional certification systems because of their complexity and strict quality compliance standards, which tend to marginalize this category of producers. I have critically analyzed the extent to which actors and stakeholders agree with the PGS core principles and if, and how, a well-formulated PGS certification can be regarded as a democratic process which fulfils its broader goals. In order to re-structure society from an agri-food perspective, towards a more democratic governance, the core problem lays in how standards and certifications are formed, assessed and applied. The crux of this study is to examine the degree to which a different type of governance, such as the PGS, can induce democratic and participatory methods of food certification. I have conducted semi-structured interviews with various local actors who belong to the social field of alternative food productions underneath the umbrella of Slow Food. Here I investigate the social dimension, the debate and comprehension of the PGS, and the concept of Governmentality by Foucault, as applied to Presidia. In the thesis I show that the PGS provide social benefits to local communities that undergo this certification process. The PGS is able to contribute to the creation of solidarity among actors within the food system, designing a transparent certification system against the logic of commodification.

慢城運動 (cittaslow) 在1999年於義大利正式發起，由慢食運動延伸而來，有鑑於全球化變遷下，過度追求快速發展與效率性，而忽略了城市原本與自然共處的平衡以及悠久的歷史人文，慢城運動目的是為了人類社會的永續發展，透過傳統技術加上現代科技，在保護自然與傳統文化同時，兼顧發展該地區的經濟，打造出真正適合人居住的都市。 而韓國早在2005年就開始積極尋求慢城認證的可能，並在2007年成為亞洲第一個獲得慢城認證的國家，並於五年內將認證的慢城數量提升至十二個之多。其中，本研究的主要研究對象，南揚州鳥安慢城即位於繁忙的首爾首都圈內，在這凡事講求快速、效率的國家，如何在快與慢、地區發展與保護間取得平衡，是值得探討的對象。韓國各慢城的誕生，除了保護當地自然環境與人文歷史以及推廣傳統技術外，在地方政府與韓國觀光公社的合作下，也充分發揮該地的觀光資源，為這些城市帶來更多經濟效益。而韓國在2012年時，其中一個慢城在重新審查的過程中，由於過度商業化、外來投資客過多等，造成資格不符被除去慢城的認證，這也讓韓國開始思考慢城發展速度是否過快，以及慢城究竟是為了地區居民，還是為了觀光而打造的產物。 因此本研究將以韓國慢城運動為中心，探討韓國慢城運動發展過程與現況，並以首爾首都圈內的慢城南揚州鳥安為研究對象，透過實地觀察與深度訪談的方式，分析慢城的主體，也就是地區居民，對慢城運動的態度與看法。2014年臺灣花蓮鳳林鎮成為第一個獲得認證的慢城，同時也有城市開始推動慢城運動與認證，本研究透過討論韓國的慢城運動經驗發展經驗以及地區居民對慢城的態度，希望能夠提供正在發展慢城運動的臺灣相關經驗。

lavare lente | a place for slow washing | alexandria, virginia the proposal is for a slow laundering facility for alexandria, virginia. the building is intended to be slow and deliberate in its construction and inhabitation. without conventional machines, the architecture and the individual must take on increased roles in the process of washing. ideas about how slowness relates to memory, drawing and construction, and about how we might ground ourselves in a manageably paced lifestyle are at the root of the thesis. / Master of Architecture