Environmental injustice and urban food deserts: An evaluation of supermarket accessibility in Tampa Bay Florida

The field of environmental justice is concerned with the equitable treatment of communities and individuals with respect to the environments in which they live, work, and play. A sophisticated body of evidence has been developed which illustrates that non-White ethnicity and low socioeconomic status (SES) are strongly associated with adverse environmental outcomes. Historically, environmental justice research has been heavily focused on race- and class-based disparities in the distribution of environmental hazards. In recent years, environmental justice researchers have begun to focus on new populations and problems, particularly in the area of access to community-level environmental benefits. One of the most important of these benefits is healthy food, which is essential to life itself and a critical component of any just and sustainable community.;A consensus is now emerging that low SES and racial minority neighborhoods are often home to food deserts - areas with limited access to healthy, affordable, and culturally appropriate food options. Previous research has demonstrated that food deserts are associated with disproportionately high rates of diet-related disease, particularly obesity. This study was designed to investigate the main research hypotheses that (1) the percentage of Black residents in a neighborhood is associated with supermarket access, (2) low neighborhood SES is associated with supermarket access, and (3) food deserts exist in predominantly Black and low SES neighborhoods. Tampa Bay, Florida, an average mid-sized metropolitan area in terms of size, population, density, demographics, land use patterns, and prevalence of diet-related disease was selected as the location for a representative case study. The methods and results from this study can be applied to other similarly situated urban areas.;Full service supermarkets were used as a proxy for healthy food. Geographic information system (GIS) technology and statistical techniques were used to examine the distribution of supermarket access by race and SES. Proximity to the nearest supermarket was used to gauge each neighborhood's level of access. The results of the analysis suggest a clear negative association between the percentage of Black residents in a neighborhood and supermarket access. In contrast, it is less clear whether low neighborhood SES is associated with supermarket access. The bulk of the evidence indicates an inverse relationship, meaning that low SES neighborhoods actually have slightly better access on average than the general population. However, low SES individuals and communities that do suffer from poor access are probably less able to cope because of socioeconomic deprivation (e.g. higher rates of dependency on public/alternative forms of transportation, lower median income, less political/social capital). A total of forty-two potential food deserts were identified in low SES and Predominantly Black neighborhoods, representing more than ten percent of the total population. These findings are compatible with the results of previous studies showing that local food environments are unsupportive of supermarket access in vulnerable subpopulations.;All primary objectives of this investigation were accomplished, including (1) analysis of the current state of environmental justice research, (2) development of a comprehensive GIS database mapping supermarket locations against demographic neighborhood characteristics, (3) empirical testing of race-based and/or class-based disparities in food access are present in the study area, (4) formulation of policy recommendations for corrective action, and (5) identification of limitations and avenues for future research. Additional research is needed to determine the full scope of the problem, to further distinguish areas with food access issues, and to better establish whether a direct causal relationship exists between race, SES, and food deserts. However, the insight gleaned from this study elicits further evidence of the food access problems facing this nation.;For researchers and policy makers, the challenge ahead is to reinvent food systems in ways that encourage healthy eating patterns across society, regardless of race and socioeconomic status. The complex set of problems involved with this task can only be overcome through a concentrated, holistic, and multifaceted effort to improve access to healthy food in vulnerable communities. Integrated approaches that address individual, cultural, social, environmental, economic, and political barriers to healthy eating are critical for success, and should expressly include environmental and social justice goals. With strategic interventions based in equality, increased access to healthy food options can help slow the inertia of diet-driven disease in low SES neighborhoods and communities of color, and promote healthy eating habits for all.