If suburbia and sprawl are about fast food, then what are CoolTowns about?  Slow Food USA, part of a vastly growing international movement, put it best:

“People have responded to the growing movement, because they have become tired of buying the same things, eating the same foods and living the same lives. With these interests in mind, our mission is to create a robust, active movement that protects taste, culture and the environment as universal social values. Slow Food programs are dedicated to the mingling of taste, culture and the environment.“

Image: Slow Food, The Case for Taste, by Carlo Petrini, who started the slow food movement in Italy.  Not surprisingly, Italy is home to one of my favorite phrases, “Il dolce far niente” - the sweetness of doing nothing.