Abstract

Landscapes of Health - Assessing Food and physical activities
Track: Teaching with GIS in Higher Education
Authors: Kat Haessler, Thomas Wuerzer, Sagar Shah

Poor "access to food" and lack of physical activities have been identified as the most critical factors explaining food insecurity and obesity of adults and children.
For this CDC funded research project, ArcGIS is used to identify hot zones of food deserts (areas that lack access to 'healthy' food stores) and food oases, and locations of physical activities (LoPA) within Hamilton County, Ohio. In a parcel-based study, all the parcels beyond walkable distance (0.5 mile) from a healthy food store or LoPAs are analysed. Next, GIS is used to model social-economic characteristics at block group level. We expect to find high correlations between disadvantaged population and food deserts and LoPas. The presentation shows how to model/analyze food and LoPA issues, the results for Hamilton County, OH, and how public and private sectors can use the results for decision-making and advanced policy.