Beyond Governance Silos: Socio‐Ecological Indicators for Assessing Sustainable Urban Food Systems

Tanya Zerbian and Ana Moragues-Faus
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Tanya Zerbian: Institute of Economics, Geography and Demography, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Spain
Ana Moragues-Faus: Department of Economic History, Institutions, Politics and World Economy, University of Barcelona, Spain / Food Action and Research Observatory, University of Barcelona, Spain

Politics and Governance, 2027, vol. 15

Abstract: Urban food systems are central to addressing today’s sustainability challenges. However, their assessment remains fragmented and often detached from broader urban dynamics, limiting the development of integrated approaches to urban food governance. This article advances these efforts by developing a comprehensive indicator set for diagnosing and evaluating urban food systems, grounded in a socio-ecological urban food systems framework that conceptualizes food systems as complex urban systems. The indicator set was developed through a combination of top-down and bottom-up methods. First, a systematic review identified potential indicators from existing urban sustainability and food assessment tools. Second, an applicability test in five cities assessed data availability and feasibility. Third, a modified Delphi process with experts validated the proposed indicators. The process yielded a set of 98 indicators, including 68 core and 30 aspirational indicators, which capture both food-specific and broader urban conditions such as governance, justice, health, and infrastructure. The proposed framework advances existing approaches by offering an indicator-based tool that integrates food and non-food dynamics to elevate the importance of food within urban sustainability, two critical areas to inform a post-2030 sustainability agenda. It complements and strengthens ongoing initiatives with the potential to enable benchmarking, comparability, and embedding of food system considerations within wider urban governance strategies. In doing so, it supports municipalities and actors in recognizing the reciprocal relationship between food and broader urban sustainability agendas, thereby avoiding the creation of a new urban food silo and strengthening pathways toward more resilient, equitable, and sustainable urban food governance.

Keywords: cities; food; indicator set; socio‐ecological assessment; urban food governance; urban sustainability; urban systems (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2027
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cog:poango:v15:y:2027:a:12584

DOI: 10.17645/pag.12584

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