Suburban Food Security: Walkability and Nutritional Access in Metropolitan Detroit

Abstract

This article explored the relationship between the local food environment and walkability in the socioeconomically diverse, inner-ring suburbs of metropolitan Detroit. The availability and cost differentials of food were surveyed using a modified version of the Nutrition Environment Measures Survey for Stores (NEMS–S), and a geographic information system–based method was designed to map walkability relative to licensed food retail establishments. Results showed that minority communities lack access to fresh produce and nutritionally adequate foods, which is compounded by limited mobility. By incorporating local-based economic incentives, low-income communities can better align neighborhood goals of obtaining nutritionally adequate food (and other services) with economic opportunity.

本文探讨具有社经多样性的底特律大都会内环郊区的在地粮食环境及可步行性之间的关联性。本研究运用改良的商店营养环境测量调查 (NEMS–S) 来调查粮食供应与支出的差别，并设计一个以地理信息系统为基础的方法，用来绘製相对于获准经营的粮食零售公司的可步行距离。研究结果显示，少数族裔社群缺乏获取新鲜农产品和营养充足的食物之管道，并因有限的能动性而进一步恶化。透过纳入以地方为基础的经济诱因，低收入社群能够更佳地结合获取营养充足的食物 (及其他服务) 的邻里目标与经济机会。

En este artículo se exploró la relación entre el ambiente alimentario local y la transitabilidad de los suburbios del anillo interior de la Detroit metropolitana, socioeconómicamente diversos. Se estudiaron la disponibilidad de alimentos y sus diferenciales de costo usando una versión modificada del Estudio de Medidas del Entorno Nutricional para Tiendas (NEMS–S, acrónimo en inglés) y se diseñó un método basado en sistemas de información geográfica para cartografiar la transitabilidad relativa a los establecimientos de comida al detal con licencia. Los resultados mostraron que las comunidades minoritarias carecían de acceso a alimentos frescos y con buenas propiedades nutritivas, condiciones que se complican más con una movilidad limitada. Al incorporar incentivos económicos de origen local, las comunidades de bajos ingresos pueden nivelar mejor las metas del vecindario, que propenden por alimentos de buenas propiedades nutritivas (y otros servicios), con la oportunidad económica.

Key Words:

• applied GIS
• food desert
• food security
• nutrition
• walkability

关键词:

• 应用地理信息系统，粮食荒漠，粮食安全，营养，可步行性。

Palabras clave:

• SIG aplicados, desierto alimentario
• seguridad alimentaria
• nutrición
• transitabilidad

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Correction

Acknowledgments

This work would not have been possible without Alex B. Hill and the Detroit Food Map Initiative, who developed the NEMS 2-page short form survey tool, and provided training in data collection and protocol. The authors appreciate three anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments that substantially improved the article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Elizabeth Bastian

ELIZABETH BASTIAN recently graduated with a master's of urban planning degree from the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign, concentrating in transportation and land use planning as well as international planning. She can be contacted at 704 W. Stoughton, Apt. 1, Urbana, IL 61801. E-mail: [email protected]. Her research interests include open source data analysis and GIS, international urban development patterns, and urban anthropology.

Jacob Napieralski

JACOB NAPIERALSKI is an Associate Professor in the Department of Natural Sciences at the University of Michigan–Dearborn, 4901 Evergreen Road, Dearborn, MI 48128. E-mail: [email protected]. Currently, his research focuses on monitoring and mapping urban streams, including the stream burial process, reconstructing glacier extent and behavior, developing morphometric indexes for landform characterization, and scaffolding scientific inquiry and reflection into field-based learning.