Indexing the Human-Nature Relationship in Cities

Since the globalization of the world’s economy, there has been a surge in studies ranking international cities by quantitative indices. This paper examines various city indices and identifies the transition from an economy-centric approach towards a sustainability-oriented approach through the lens of those contributing variables used in different indices. The paper then introduces a new Biophilic City Index as a way to examine the human-nature relationship, i.e. biophilia, in cities. It is structured at three different levels: from nature service to ecological integrity to human-nature interaction. This index enriches existing city indices and encourages city planners and policy-makers to make cities more biophilic.