Creating Cultural Identity for Sustainable Urban Development A Case Study of the City of Cheongju in Korea

Abstract

Cities, culture and sustainability are the key words preparing for the twenty-first century. The three themes are so broad for their own sake and closely interrelated that it may not be able to draw any universal and practical consensus even among the nations involved in this comparative case study. It will proceed by the conceptual underpinnings of three themes and by sketching country-specific characteristics of urban system, culture and the sustainability of cities, and then charting out some directions to cope with desirable future. The City of Cheongju has been selected for a case study, as the city is a typical medium-sized city with strong enthusiasm to be a culturally and environmentally sustainable city in Korea. Most of humanity will soon live in cities, and the trend of urbanization is irreversible.