Using urban commuting data to calculate a spatiotemporal accessibility measure for food environment studies

Abstract

Improving spatial access to healthy foods in urban regions is recognized as an important component of reducing the prevalence of chronic illness and achieving better health outcomes. Previously, researchers exploring this domain have calculated accessibility measures derived from the travel cost from home locations to nearby food stores. This approach disregards additional opportunities that present themselves as residents move throughout the city. A time-geographic accessibility measure is utilized to explore how single-occupancy automobile commuting affords access to supermarkets. Results show residents in some TAZs have more access when accounting for their commuting behavior than when measuring access from their home. This finding suggests more nuanced calculations of accessibility are necessary to fully understand which urban populations have greater access to healthy food.