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Disparities in Neighborhood Food Environments: Implications of Measurement Strategies

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  • Michael D. M. Bader
  • Marnie Purciel
  • Paulette Yousefzadeh
  • Kathryn M. Neckerman

Abstract

Public health researchers have begun to map the neighborhood “food environment” and examine its association with the risk of overweight and obesity. Some argue that “food deserts”—areas with little or no provision of fresh produce and other healthy food—may contribute to disparities in obesity, diabetes, and related health problems. While research on neighborhood food environments has taken advantage of more technically sophisticated ways to assess distance and density, in general, it has not considered how individual or neighborhood conditions might modify physical distance and thereby affect patterns of spatial accessibility. This study carried out a series of sensitivity analyses to illustrate the effects on the measurement of disparities in food environments of adjusting for cross‐neighborhood variation in vehicle ownership rates, public transit access, and impediments to pedestrian travel, such as crime and poor traffic safety. The analysis used geographic information systems data for New York City supermarkets, fruit and vegetable markets, and farmers' markets and employed both kernel density and distance measures. We found that adjusting for vehicle ownership and crime tended to increase measured disparities in access to supermarkets by neighborhood race/ethnicity and income, while adjusting for public transit and traffic safety tended to narrow these disparities. Further, considering fruit and vegetable markets and farmers' markets, as well as supermarkets, increased the density of healthy food outlets, especially in neighborhoods with high concentrations of Hispanics, Asians, and foreign‐born residents and in high‐poverty neighborhoods.

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  • Michael D. M. Bader & Marnie Purciel & Paulette Yousefzadeh & Kathryn M. Neckerman, 2010. "Disparities in Neighborhood Food Environments: Implications of Measurement Strategies," Economic Geography, Clark University, vol. 86(4), pages 409-430, October.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:ecgeog:v:86:y:2010:i:4:p:409-430
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1944-8287.2010.01084.x
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    Cited by:

    1. Berning, Joshua P., 2012. "Access to Local Agriculture and Weight Outcomes," Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association, vol. 41(1), pages 1-15, April.
    2. Bimbo, Francesco & Viscecchia, Rosaria & Nardone, Gianluca, 2012. "Does the alternative food supply network affect the human health?," 126th Seminar, June 27-29, 2012, Capri, Italy 126060, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    3. Morrissey, Taryn W. & Oellerich, Don & Meade, Erica & Simms, Jeffrey & Stock, Ann, 2016. "Neighborhood poverty and children's food insecurity," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 85-93.
    4. Zeng, Di & Thomsen, Michael R. & Nayga, Rodolfo M. & Bennett, Judy L., 2019. "Supermarket access and childhood bodyweight: Evidence from store openings and closings," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 78-88.
    5. Cannuscio, Carolyn C. & Hillier, Amy & Karpyn, Allison & Glanz, Karen, 2014. "The social dynamics of healthy food shopping and store choice in an urban environment," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 13-20.
    6. Jennifer J. Salinas & Elizabeth Rocha & Bassent E. Abdelbary & Jennifer Gay & Ken Sexton, 2012. "Impact of Hispanic Ethnic Concentration and Socioeconomic Status on Obesity Prevalence in Texas Counties," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-15, April.
    7. Geoffrey T. Wodtke & Matthew Parbst, 2017. "Neighborhoods, Schools, and Academic Achievement: A Formal Mediation Analysis of Contextual Effects on Reading and Mathematics Abilities," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 54(5), pages 1653-1676, October.
    8. Arturo E. Osorio & Maria G. Corradini & Jerome D. Williams, 2013. "Remediating food deserts, food swamps, and food brownfields: helping the poor access nutritious, safe, and affordable food," AMS Review, Springer;Academy of Marketing Science, vol. 3(4), pages 217-231, December.
    9. Giovanni Peira & Luigi Bollani & Chiara Giachino & Alessandro Bonadonna, 2018. "The Management of Unsold Food in Outdoor Market Areas: Food Operators’ Behaviour and Attitudes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-16, April.
    10. Jason Winfree & Philip Watson, 2021. "Buy Local and Social Interaction," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 103(4), pages 1454-1477, August.
    11. Madeleine I. G. Daepp, 2015. "Prices and Availability of Healthy Foods across St. Louis," The American Economist, Sage Publications, vol. 60(2), pages 209-224, September.
    12. Jackson, Dylan B. & Johnson, Kecia R. & Vaughn, Michael G. & Hinton, Marissa E., 2019. "The role of neighborhoods in household food insufficiency: Considering interactions between physical disorder, low social capital, violence, and perceptions of danger," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 221(C), pages 58-67.
    13. repec:zwi:journl:v:41:y:2012:i:1:p:57-71 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Michael Carolan, 2021. "Putting food access in its topological place: thinking in terms of relational becomings when mapping space," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 38(1), pages 243-256, February.

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