CUNY Institute for Sustainable Cities

The CUNY Institute for Sustainable Cities seeks to engage CUNY students, New York City residents, and policymakers in sustainable practices to ensure our continued leadership in global, cultural and economic issues, and an improved quality of life in urban areas, while forging a global economy that does not deplete resources, or impair the quality of life, for other people or for future generations. Right now more than half of the world’s population lives in cities. Eighty percent of the U.S. population lives in a metro area. Cities and everything about them—their buildings, transportation systems, water quality, air quality, and waste disposal systems—have an impact that reaches far beyond their borders, affecting the lives of the majority of the people living on the planet. The CUNY Institute for Sustainable Cities was founded on the belief that in moving cities toward sustainable practices we will ensure that our cities continue as vibrant cultural, economic, and residential centers.