Less demanding pace is quite civilised (8)
I believe the answer is:
literate
'quite civilised' is the definition.
'literate' can be an answer for 'civilised' (thesaurus). I am unsure of the 'quite' bit.
'less demanding pace' is the wordplay.
'less demanding' becomes 'lite' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'pace' becomes 'rate' (synonyms).
'lite'+'rate'='LITERATE'
'is' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for literate that I've seen before include "Learned" , "Able to read and write" , "properly educated" , "version of 'speed of light'?" , "Erudite" .)