Ecological science and transformation to the sustainable city

•Global shifts in urban processes place cities in crisis.•Sustainability provides a social vision for transformations of cities.•Ecological processes in urban areas are crucial for resilience.•Transformations toward sustainability can a “metacity,” framework. There is growing urgency to enhance the sustainability of existing and emerging cities. The science of ecology, especially as it interacts with disciplines in the social sciences and urban design, has contributions to make to the sustainable transformation of urban systems. Not all possible urban transformations may lead toward sustainability. Ecological science helps identify components of resilience that can favor transformations that are more sustainable. To summarize the dynamics and choices involved in sustainable transformations, a “metacity” framework is presented, embracing ecological processes in cities as complementary to those involving society, power, and economy.