The timeliness of the topic at the national and global scale, is only matched by its political, economic and social relevance. The sustainability of urban areas is assailed by a combination of threats never seen before. At a time when—for the 1st time in history—more than 50% of humans reside in cities, those looming threats demand multidisciplinary approaches both to understand them better and to provide sensible solutions that mitigate the negative effects while amplifying the potential benefits. This course addresses the specific challenges that cities face in addressing sustainability, with a focus on smaller communities. The goal of the course is to examine the wide range of disciplines and topics that a local government must navigate while meeting community needs today without sacrificing the needs of the community of tomorrow. No explicit pre-requisites are required.