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.