  This review is devoted to studies of the Gould belt and the Local system.
Since the Gould belt is the giant stellar-gas complex closest to the sun, its
stellar component is characterized, along with the stellar associations and
diffuse clusters, cold atomic and molecular gas, high-temperature coronal gas,
and dust contained in it. Questions relating to the kinematic features of the
Gould belt are discussed and the most interesting scenarios for its origin and
evolution are examined.
