Ryan Gretlein | 2025 I.S. Symposium

Name: Ryan Gretlein
Title: Rethinking Urban Sustainability: Integrating Ecology into City Ranking Models
Major: Urban Studies
Minor: Environmental Studies
Advisors: Heather Fitz Gibbon; Hamed Goharipour

In an era of accelerating ecological collapse, cities are increasingly evaluated through sustainability rankings that claim to measure environmental resilience for the future. However, these rankings prioritize anthropocentric infrastructure metrics while failing to adequately assess ecological integrity. My Independent Study research critiques traditional sustainability ranking models and introduces the Viability Index for Ecologically Sustainable and Thriving Urban Areas (VISTA) model, an alternative framework that centers ecological integrity rather than economic privilege. Findings show that urban sustainability is not the achievement of a single indicator but a balance of interconnected ecological systems. This research ultimately argues that true sustainability cannot be measured by human convenience alone but must instead reflect a city’s ability to function as part of a larger ecosystem, ensuring the survival of both urban and nonhuman systems in an era of profound environmental disaster.

Scroll below to see the results of Ryan’s Independent Study research.

Posted in Symposium 2025 on May 1, 2025.