Globalization and the birth of a global consciousness seem to be balanced by people’s need to feel belonging to a close geographical community as well. James Goldstein’s essay focuses on cities as a starting point for an analysis of sustainable geographical communities characterized by a shared identification with place. The author outlines the key features(land use, transportation, food and agriculture) of these cities in the three archetypal regions of the Great Transition world. He considers then some recent initiatives to promote local sustainability and finds that they share an integrated approach, broad participation, a glocal perspective and a long-term view. He concludes with an idealized approach to a sustainable-cities initiative and a checklist for designing a sustainable community project.