Africa’s Urban Food Deserts

Battersby, Jane; Crush, Jonathan

doi:10.1007/s12132-014-9225-5

Cited by 90 publications

(74 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Alternatively, the informal economy also contributes to the attainment of food security through its provision of affordable food for household consumption. Haysom et al [31] state that the informal economy is "incredibly fluid", in that it allows for individuals to move outward from its reach as formal employment opportunities are gained, but also allows for a user's assimilation again as needed.…”

Section: Urban Food Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adaptive Governance and Market Heterogeneity: An Institutional Analysis of an Urban Food System in Sub-Saharan Africa

Blekking

Tuholske

2017

Sustainability

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African cities face immense challenges over the coming decades. As countries urbanize, African cities must maintain service provision for rapidly increasing populations, yet with limited resources. In particular, urban food systems must be able to cope with regional food shortages and catalyze (or at least enable) the distribution of food from diverse sources in order to ensure that the cost of food remains affordable for all of the segments of a city's population. Food systems in most African cities are composed of wholesale sellers, formal markets, street vendors, shops, and increasingly large-scale international stores, creating an evolving landscape of food sources. At the same time, urban population growth can result in rapid changes in urban structure with new peri-urban development and transitions in socioeconomic status within existing areas. Governance plays an important role in the creation and coordination of formal and informal actors across different types of food providers. At the municipal level, new markets must be approved to keep pace with urban expansion. Within residential areas, market management committees must work to maintain traditional markets in the context of increasing competition from large-scale grocers and small-scale street vendors. We use household and market-level data that was collected in Lusaka, Zambia, to conduct an institutional analysis of residential areas to examine the interplay between households, public markets, and street vendors. Analysis of the city's food system identifies a complex network of relationships featuring formal and informal governance arrangements, which may affect food system functionality.

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Section: Urban Food Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adaptive Governance and Market Heterogeneity: An Institutional Analysis of an Urban Food System in Sub-Saharan Africa

Blekking

Tuholske

2017

Sustainability

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“…In addition, food desserts are receiving attention in the literature as zones that are by definition lacking in readily accessible, good quality food. For example, Battersby and Crush (2014) demonstrate that in Cape Town many poor urban communities are a significant distance from supermarkets and effectively live in 'food deserts'. Furthermore, the lack of high quality and affordable food outlets leads to a reliance on cheaper, nutrient-poor foods, which are in turn an important factor in the rise of obesity and malnutrition amongst poor urban communities (Battersby and Peyton, 2014;Frayne et al, 2014).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Planning for food secure cities: Measuring the influence of infrastructure and income on household food security in Southern African cities

Frayne

McCordic

2015

Geoforum

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“…Even when supermarkets are physically present in low-income urban areas, for example, this does not necessarily improve dietary diversity since they tend to carry a less healthy and diverse range of foods [7]. A study in the US found that an increase in the distance to a supermarket decreases the odds of fruit and vegetable consumption in metropolitan areas but has no impact in non-metropolitan areas [4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Proximity to Wet Markets and Supermarkets on Household Dietary Diversity in Nanjing City, China

Zhong

Crush

et al. 2018

Sustainability

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This study investigated the influence of the proximity to wet markets and supermarkets on urban household dietary diversity in Nanjing. Based on the data collected through a citywide survey in 2015 and the map data of wet markets and supermarkets, the Poisson regression model was deployed to examine the correlations between geographical proximity to supermarkets and wet markets and household dietary diversity. The result shows that the coefficients for the distance to the nearest wet market are not statistically significant. Although the coefficients for the distance to nearest supermarket are statistically significant, they were too minor to reach a practical importance. We argue, however, that the insignificant correlations reflect exactly the high physical accessibility to food outlets and the extensive spatially dense food supply network constituted by wet markets, supermarkets and small food stores in Nanjing, due in part to the food infrastructure development planning in Nanjing that has ensured relatively equal and convenient access to wet markets or supermarkets for all households. Our findings are verified by the survey data that more than 90% of households purchased fresh food items within their neighborhoods or in walking distance. In addition to the densely distributed food outlets, various other factors contributed to the non-significant influence of the distance to the nearest wet market and supermarket, in particular, the numerous small food stores within or close to residential communities, the prevalence of three-generation extended household structure and the high household income.

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Africa’s Urban Food Deserts

Cited by 90 publications

References 34 publications

Adaptive Governance and Market Heterogeneity: An Institutional Analysis of an Urban Food System in Sub-Saharan Africa

Adaptive Governance and Market Heterogeneity: An Institutional Analysis of an Urban Food System in Sub-Saharan Africa

Planning for food secure cities: Measuring the influence of infrastructure and income on household food security in Southern African cities

The Impact of Proximity to Wet Markets and Supermarkets on Household Dietary Diversity in Nanjing City, China

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