IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v17y2019i1p166-d301911.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A Geospatial Analysis of Access to Ethnic Food Retailers in Two Michigan Cities: Investigating the Importance of Outlet Type within Active Travel Neighborhoods

Author

Listed:
  • Greg Rybarczyk

    (Department of Geography, Planning and Environment, University of Michigan-Flint, Flint, MI 48502, USA
    The Michigan Institute for Data Science (MIDAS), Ann Arbor, MI 48108, USA
    The Centre for Urban Design and Mental Health, London SW9 7QF, UK)

  • Dorceta Taylor

    (School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48108, USA)

  • Shannon Brines

    (School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48108, USA)

  • Richard Wetzel

    (Department of Geography, Planning and Environment, University of Michigan-Flint, Flint, MI 48502, USA)

Abstract

To date, the research that examines food accessibility has tended to ignore ethnic food outlets. This void leaves us with a limited understanding of how such food stores may, or may not, impact food security. The study discussed herein addressed this by conducting a geospatial assessment of ethnic food outlet accessibility in two U.S. cities: Flint and Grand Rapids, Michigan. We used Geographic Information Systems (GIS) tools to create a revealed accessibility index for each food outlet, and used the index to determine access within active travel service areas. We utilized an ordinary least squares regression (OLS), and two local models: spatial autoregression (SAR) and geographically weighted regression (GWR) to enhance our understanding of global and localized relationships between outlet accessibility and type (while controlling for known covariates). The results show that the local models outperformed ( R 2 max = 0.938) the OLS model. The study found that there was reduced access to ethnic restaurants in all service areas of Grand Rapids. However, in Flint, we observed this association in the bicycling areas only. Also notable were the influences that demographic characteristics had on access in each city. Ultimately, the findings tell us that nuanced planning and policy approaches are needed in order to promote greater access to ethnic food outlets and reduce overall food insecurity.

Suggested Citation

  • Greg Rybarczyk & Dorceta Taylor & Shannon Brines & Richard Wetzel, 2019. "A Geospatial Analysis of Access to Ethnic Food Retailers in Two Michigan Cities: Investigating the Importance of Outlet Type within Active Travel Neighborhoods," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(1), pages 1-18, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2019:i:1:p:166-:d:301911
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/1/166/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/1/166/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jerry Shannon, 2016. "Beyond the Supermarket Solution: Linking Food Deserts, Neighborhood Context, and Everyday Mobility," Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 106(1), pages 186-202, January.
    2. Lewis, L.B. & Sloane, D.C. & Nascimento, L.M. & Diamant, A.L. & Guinyard, J.J. & Yancey, A.K. & Flynn, G., 2005. "African Americans' access to healthy food options in South Los Angeles restaurants," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 95(4), pages 668-673.
    3. Zenk, S.N. & Schulz, A.J. & Israel, B.A. & James, S.A. & Bao, S. & Wilson, M.L., 2005. "Neighborhood racial composition, neighborhood poverty, and the spatial accessibility of supermarkets in metropolitan Detroit," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 95(4), pages 660-667.
    4. Bukenya, James O., 2018. "The Importance of Ethnic Food Stores in Identifying Food Deserts: A Case Study of Huntsville, Alabama," Journal of Food Distribution Research, Food Distribution Research Society, vol. 49(1), March.
    5. Dannefer, R. & Williams, D.A. & Baronberg, S. & Silver, L., 2012. "Healthy bodegas: Increasing and promoting healthy foods at corner stores in New York City," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 102(10), pages 27-31.
    6. Quynh Lê & Hoang Nguyen & Daniel Terry & Stefan Dieters & Stuart Auckland & Gretchen Long, 2015. "Quantifying and visualizing access to healthy food in a rural area of Australia: A spatial analysis," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 7(5), pages 1017-1029, October.
    7. Guangqing Chi & Jun Zhu, 2008. "Spatial Regression Models for Demographic Analysis," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 27(1), pages 17-42, February.
    8. Stephen Matthews & Tse-Chuan Yang, 2012. "Mapping the results of local statistics," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 26(6), pages 151-166.
    9. Rybarczyk, Greg & Gallagher, Laura, 2014. "Measuring the potential for bicycling and walking at a metropolitan commuter university," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 1-10.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Chang, Virginia W., 2006. "Racial residential segregation and weight status among US adults," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(5), pages 1289-1303, September.
    2. Rachel Meltzer & Jenny Schuetz, 2012. "Bodegas or Bagel Shops? Neighborhood Differences in Retail and Household Services," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 26(1), pages 73-94, February.
    3. Stephen Matthews & Daniel M. Parker, 2013. "Progress in Spatial Demography," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 28(10), pages 271-312.
    4. Greg Rybarczyk & Richard R. Shaker, 2021. "Predicting Bicycle-on-Board Transit Choice in a University Environment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-16, January.
    5. Pascale Joassart-Marcelli & Jaime S Rossiter & Fernando J Bosco, 2017. "Ethnic markets and community food security in an urban “food desertâ€," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 49(7), pages 1642-1663, July.
    6. Sanghyo Kim & Kyei-Im Lee & Seong-Yoon Heo & Seung-Chul Noh, 2020. "Identifying Food Deserts and People with Low Food Access, and Disparities in Dietary Habits and Health in Korea," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-21, October.
    7. Do, D. Phuong & Dubowitz, Tamara & Bird, Chloe E. & Lurie, Nicole & Escarce, Jose J. & Finch, Brian K., 2007. "Neighborhood context and ethnicity differences in body mass index: A multilevel analysis using the NHANES III survey (1988-1994)," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 5(2), pages 179-203, July.
    8. Amy Hillier, 2008. "Childhood Overweight and the Built Environment: Making Technology Part of the Solution rather than Part of the Problem," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 615(1), pages 56-82, January.
    9. Donghui Wang & Guangqing Chi, 2017. "Different places, different stories: A study of the spatial heterogeneity of county-level fertility in China," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 37(16), pages 493-526.
    10. Heo, Seong-Yoon & Lee, Kyei-Im & Zulauf, Carl R. & Noh, Seung-Chul & Kim, Sang-Hyo, 2017. "Identification of and Consumer Behavior in Food Deserts: A Case Study of South Korea," 2017 Annual Meeting, July 30-August 1, Chicago, Illinois 258503, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    11. Andrea L. Sparks & Neil Bania & Laura Leete, 2011. "Comparative Approaches to Measuring Food Access in Urban Areas," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 48(8), pages 1715-1737, June.
    12. Yanrong Qiu & Kaihuai Liao & Yanting Zou & Gengzhi Huang, 2022. "A Bibliometric Analysis on Research Regarding Residential Segregation and Health Based on CiteSpace," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-21, August.
    13. Yi Yang & Jie Li & Guobin Zhu & Qiangqiang Yuan, 2019. "Spatio–Temporal Relationship and Evolvement of Socioeconomic Factors and PM 2.5 in China During 1998–2016," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-24, March.
    14. Matt Ruther & Rebbeca Tesfai & Janice Madden, 2018. "Foreign-born population concentration and neighbourhood growth and development within US metropolitan areas," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 55(4), pages 826-843, March.
    15. Xiya Zhang & Haibo Hu, 2019. "Combining Data from Multiple Sources to Evaluate Spatial Variations in the Economic Costs of PM 2.5 -Related Health Conditions in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei Region," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(20), pages 1-17, October.
    16. Wanxu Chen & Guangqing Chi & Jiangfeng Li, 2020. "Ecosystem Services and Their Driving Forces in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River Urban Agglomerations, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(10), pages 1-19, May.
    17. Beno Mesarec & Branka Trček, 2024. "Suggestions and Solutions for Enhancing Active Commuting to the University of Maribor and Advancing CO 2 Emission Reduction," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-21, January.
    18. Kelsey Ryan-Simkins, 2021. "The intersection of food justice and religious values in secular spaces: insights from a nonprofit urban farm in Columbus, Ohio," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 38(3), pages 767-781, September.
    19. Mishra, Sabyasachee & Sharma, Ishant & Pani, Agnivesh, 2023. "Analyzing autonomous delivery acceptance in food deserts based on shopping travel patterns," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    20. Tom Wilson & Irina Grossman & Monica Alexander & Phil Rees & Jeromey Temple, 2022. "Methods for Small Area Population Forecasts: State-of-the-Art and Research Needs," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 41(3), pages 865-898, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2019:i:1:p:166-:d:301911. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.