This article examines food deserts by using GIS systems and
remote sensing to define such deserts and to measure the costs of distance
imposed on consumers in the small city of Lawrence, Kansas. A food desert is
present when there is a lack of access to healthful food. The lack of food
items needed for an adequate diet imposes high costs on residents and can
typically result in health problems.
This study is limited to full-service grocery stores, which
are defined as “those with a footprint of more than 30,000 square feet.” The map reveals that there is a concentration
of food outlets along several main avenues, and in some places there are no
groceries within 2 miles. Surveys were mailed asking for volunteers to indicate
their source of transportation to grocery stores, as well as an estimated
distance to their favorite grocery store. The findings suggest that almost no
Lawrence residents with cars live in under-served areas or food deserts, and
that the only neighborhoods that exceed the threshold for travel costs to a
food outlet are located in rural areas outside of city limits.
Hallett, L. F., & Mcdermott, D. (2011). Quantifying
the extent and cost of food deserts in Lawrence, Kansas, USA. Applied
Geography, 31(4), 1210-1215. doi:10.1016/j.apgeog.2010.09.006
This is a clear example of the benefits of using GIS to present data; though food deserts are a complicated and often overlooked issue, these maps allow us to easily look at the conditions taking place in this specific food desert, and the implications of these conditions.
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