Evolution of the slow living concept within the models of sustainable communities

•Analysis of three sustainable communities facilitates development of a new classification framework, the Models of Sustainable Communities.•Evolution of the “slow living” concept analysed through case studies of these communities reveals trends corresponding to the evolution of the models presented.•Based on the pendulum theory of social change sustainable communities are vanguards of the next stage of sociocultural development.•The T-Cycle analysis reveals a converging relational trend between sustainable communities and mainstream Western society.

The study presents analysis of three case studies of sustainable communities to reveal their distinctive features through the novel Functional Models of Sustainable Communities framework. The case studies signify phases of evolution of the slow living concept starting from the traditional representation (Model A), through the hybrid (Model B), to a more contemporary model (Model C). Based on the novel SLOW LIFE analysis, the study found that contrary to expectations the latest high-tech model of sustainable community in Masdar City failed to generate the same level of social cohesion and enjoyable living experience as evidenced in older, more established communities (Damanhur, and Toarps Ekoby). The study highlights the pivotal role of slow living concepts in the transitional period of the 21st century, moving towards the next ideational phase, according to Sorokin’s pendulum theory of social change. Further, the T-Cycle analysis revealed a converging trend in the shifting dialectical relationship between mainstream Western society and sustainable communities. The findings of this study indicate that evolution of the slow living concept in the context of sustainable communities followed broader trends in society—moving towards a more technologically oriented model.