Sustainability requires a community. People have to join together and work together. And it requires a deep commitment to the world around us, and to the future (of the earth, of our own families, of our communities and of humankind). When people have a strong sense of identity that is rooted in a place, they are more likely to get involved and begin doing the difficult things that will make our lives sustainable.
Because character of place unites what a place has been with what it is now and what it can and will be in the future—and because when we understand the character of a place we are equipped to protect and enhance it—places rich in character and places where people have a strong sense of the character of place have a better chance of producing sustainability. They are places people love and will invest their time, effort, and money to preserve and improve.
A sustainable future will inevitably build on the distinctive qualities of particular places—if only because the cost to the environment of large-scale, cookie-cutter solutions to everything from food supplies to housing will otherwise destroy us. Diversity, variety, individuality, localism—are all along the path to sustainability.