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

Greg Rybarczyk, Dorceta Taylor, Shannon Brines and Richard Wetzel
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Greg Rybarczyk: Department of Geography, Planning and Environment, University of Michigan-Flint, Flint, MI 48502, USA
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

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 17, issue 1, 1-18

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.

Keywords: food access; ethnic food; service area analysis; GIS; urban design; GWR; local regression; space syntax; demographic characteristics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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