Food Access
Inadequate nutrition is associated with chronic diseases and conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, stress, cancer, diabetes, low birth weight, obesity, and anemia. A significant contributor to dietary quality lies in access to healthy foods at a reasonable cost. In terms of the built environment, a key question is whether people who live closer to stores and restaurants—particularly those with healthier options—eat better than those who live further away? Little research has looked directly at this issue and the research shows stronger links between access to supermarkets and healthy eating than access to fast food and its opposite.
Design for Health (DFH) Materials
- Planning Information Sheet: Promoting Food Access with Comprehensive Planning and Ordinances (1.07 MB)
- Key Questions Research Summary: Food (685 KB)
- Image Resources
- Event Presentations
- Topical Planning Guides
- Comprehensive Plan Review Checklists
- Example Plans
Other Resources
- Twin Cities, Minnesota Metropolitan Area Food Map
A map prepared by the Metropolitan Design Center at the University of Minnesota in 2005 for Renewing the Countryside, a non-profit organization working with rural communities. - Designing to Reduce Childhood Obesity
A vact sheet produced by Active Living by Design.
- Progressive Planning Magazine Special Issue on Food and Planning
Contents and selected articles from this magazine issue are online. Articles feature both practitioner and faculty writers. Instructions for purchasing single issues are also online. - The Food System: A Stranger to the Planning Field
This Web page reproduces the classic 2000 Journal of the American Planning Association article on food and planning, co-authored by Kameshwari Pothukuchi and Jerome L. Kaufman. In it they lay out an agenda for research and planning action around food issues.
- The Role of the Built Environment in Supporting Active Living and Health: A Review of Research Findings (13 MB. It may take a few moments to open.)
This presentation from Active Living by Design covers the findings from a variety of researchers. It is divided into three main sections: "What is the built environment?"; "Effects of the built environment on behavior, natural environment, health, and society"; and "Active community environments and their impact on health".
- Nutrition.gov
The central U.S. government Web site for information on healthy eating, it is focused on nutrition information and contains very little about environments. - InformeDesign
InformeDesign is a research and communication tool for designers. Its search engine provides research summaries on many health themes. Each article summary has the following elements: design issue, design criteria, key concepts, research method, limitations, and commentary.
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