Sustainability composite indicator for the assessment of resilient urban agriculture and urban development

As populations continue to grow, ensuring cities' food supply and sustainability has become a critical challenge. Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture (UPA) provides valuable solutions to urban systems, helping boost climate resilience. This study aimed to assess the sustainability of UPA in Bogotá, Colombia, by developing a Composite Indicator (CI) that considers the city's natural and socioeconomic settings. It aims to guide the modification of UPA management and policies to enhance urban sustainability levels. Specifically, the CI integrates 43 variables collected from primary source data through an in-depth survey conducted in over 3,500 households. A quantitative analysis of the environmental, socioeconomic, and institutional attributes was performed. The findings revealed that UPA is a significant contributor to Bogotá's environmental resilience, particularly in terms of soil conservation (as observed in the phyto-status of soils and high loading values for soil management in the PCA analysis) and integrated water management (variables such as rainwater use or aqueduct use). However, while UPA promises food security, an unstructured value chain limits its impact on financial resilience and overall economic sustainability. This approach primarily promotes evidence-based, impact-focused, and management strategies in cities. Indeed, this citywide CI, to our knowledge, is the first in the region and establishes a baseline that facilitates comparisons over time. However, it is recommended to tailor the CI when analyzing other areas. To promote impactful measures that improve UPA's sustainability in the city, the municipality should strive to develop UPA-friendly policies that encourage more systematic monitoring mechanisms, such as the CI provided here. • Soil conservation is an effective and sustainable phytosanitary practice, adding 92 % to the sustainability CI score of UPA. • UPA can enhance resilience against food crises, especially through larger-scale initiatives and community involvement. • Social capital, via local interactions and community exchanges, made up 52 % of the CI score, highlighting civic engagement. • Institutionalization contributed 8.7 % to the overall CI score, indicating low public investment in UPA governance.