Sustainability thinking has advanced considerably in the last few decades. Despite these advances, there remains a significant disconnect between thoughts and actions in this field. Sustainability metrics are one method proposed to help address this problem. A literature review of the most commonly used metrics and evaluation systems will first be presented, along with a critical evaluation of each system against the basic principles of sustainability. Next, a new evaluation framework will be proposed that addresses some of the shortcomings of the existing evaluation methods. This framework is designed to follow the best available thinking on a number of sustainability issues and overall, give a clear and concise evaluation of sustainability while still maintaining accuracy and scientific relevancy. Finally, a theoretical application of the framework to evaluating the sustainability of the city of Houston, Texas will be given, showing the necessary metrics required to follow the principles of the framework.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:RICE/oai:scholarship.rice.edu:1911/70412 |
| Date | January 2011 |
| Contributors | Alvarez, Pedro J. |
| Source Sets | Rice University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, Text |
| Format | 63 p., application/pdf |
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