"This book deals with the challenges posed by the transformation of society towards much-needed sustainability. Especially, it deals with the local features of this change, but seen in a global context. The two cases - the municipalities of Linkoping and Atvidaberg - are Swedish, but the problems of how to relate locally to a globalized world are common in the world of today. They have been deliberately chosen to expose alternative types of choices for the local communities involved. Large Linkoping is, historically, a nodal city of importance in the national grid of regional centres, one that relates to the nation state and represents officialdom. Small Atvidaberg developed in the context of its forest region setting and metallurgy, and today operates directly to wider markets, while still emphasising its very local identity. As these municipalities are bordering each other, it provides a similar regional context and differences between them may not be entirely confused by a debate on drastically different geographical settings."--BOOK JACKET