ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses a range of issues related to food deserts in urban areas. It discusses the ideas on measurements of accessibility and the implications for city planners followed by the idea of building a community food system through community planning. The use of basic GIS tools, coupled with Network Analyst or Spatial Analyst extensions and/or multivariate regression analysis can provide a means to understand the spatial extent of retail food distributions in a community, generating useful information for planners, community activists, public health officials, and others concerned with equitable access to food. Planning and zoning have significant impacts on food system activities within or near cities, particularly food production. While the government does play a role in the food and delivery system agricultural subsidies and food assistance programs such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are examples the system is still primarily a function of the private market.
