The importance of the slow city concept for building sustainable development of small towns in Poland

The aim of the article is to present the process of using the slow city concept in Poland in the context of the key determinants of the development of small towns and to show the potential and directions of development of Cittaslow towns. The research was based on a critical analysis of the literature and strategic documents of the local development policy of Cittaslow towns. To compare the level of development of Cittaslow towns, a synthetic indicator of the socio-economic potential and the indicator of the quality of life were used. The first section describes the paradigm of sustainable development and the development challenges of small towns in Poland. The second section discusses the assumptions of the slow city and the determinants of the process of its implementation. The next section focuses on the socio-economic potential of Cittaslow towns and possible directions of their development. The last section assesses examples of cooperation between towns belonging to the Polish National Cittaslow Network.