  Studies of nearby galaxies including the Milky Way have provided fundamental
information on the evolution of structure in the Universe, the existence and
nature of dark matter, the origin and evolution of galaxies, and the global
features of star formation. Yet despite decades of work, many of the most basic
aspects of galaxies and their environments remain a mystery. In this paper we
describe some outstanding problems in this area and the ways in which large
radio facilities will contribute to further progress.
