Access to supermarkets among poorer neighborhoods: a comparison of time and distance measures

Abstract

This research assesses neighborhood differences in access to supermarkets for the Portland, Oregon region. Five-year American Community Survey data for the 2006–2010 period are used to compare a travel time and distance measure of supermarket access for neighborhoods of concentrated poverty relative to other neighborhoods, taking into account their distance to the city center. Poor and nonpoor outer neighborhoods have longer average travel times and distances to nearby supermarkets than their more centralized counterparts. Poor outer neighborhoods fare better on travel distance than nonpoor outer neighborhoods do, but endure penalties in longer travel times. This research demonstrates the potential for variation in results across methods measuring access to neighborhood amenities and suggests that more nuanced methodology will be required for us to understand sociospatial disparities in access.

Keywords:

• food access
• food deserts
• neighborhood effects
• poverty
• spatial justice

Acknowledgements

The author wishes to thank the many people in the Sociology and Geography and Planning Departments at the University at Albany who provided valuable insight and/or data for this project. The author also thanks the anonymous reviewers for their feedback.