The Korea Local Administration Review

A concept of sustainable development has been recognized as a new paradigm to resolve contemporary urban problems which were wicked and complicated. Traditionally, the sustainable development policies were assessed with three indicators: economic growth, environmental protection, and social equity. Since 2010, a new perspective on sustainable development policy has emerged, presenting regional “cultural aspect” with the three aspects listed above. Therefore, this study conducts how regional cultural characteristics influence the decision making of sustainable development policies. To investigate this research question, this study conceptualizes the definition of culture and presents theoretical framework to analyze regional cultural aspect identified by on-site interview and case study in two cities(Kawasaki city, Japan and Seongdong-gu, Seoul, South Korea). According to the research results, identified four cultural characteristics directly and/or indirectly influence the policy decision making of sustainable development. Kawasaki city primarily aimed at environment protection and industrial transformation through implementing sustainable development policies. On the other hands, Seongdong-gu attempted to achieve social equity first by protecting the commercial rights of tenants.