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Oil for Food - Energy, Equity, and Evolution of Urban Supermarket Locations: An Edmonton, Alberta, Case Study
- Michigan State University Press
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■ NAIRNE CAMERON / KAREN E. SMOYER-TOMIC / VLADIMIR YASENOVSKIY / CARL AMRHEIN OilforFood—Energy,Equity, andEvolutionofUrban SupermarketLocations A N E D M O N T O N , A L B E R TA , C A S E S T U D Y This chapter explores the connections between urban sustainability and public health in the context of the physical manifestations of economic, sociocultural, and demographic processes shaping developed world cities, with a focus on a case study of supermarket access in the Canadian city of Edmonton, Alberta. Sustainability refers to the ability for both human and ecological systems to coexist and function effectively over time. Health is viewed here following the World Health Organization in terms of overall well-being, and not merely the absence of illness or infirmity. Public health is defined broadly as “the art and science of preventing disease, and protecting and promoting the health of the community.”1 Since World War II, populations in urban areas have decentralized and services have dispersed . This chapter focuses on supermarkets—a key source of healthy food—and explores the environmental and health issues; in particular, the rise in obesity rates that have coincided with decentralization. We examine the theoretical links between sustainability, equity, efficiency, and public health and illustrate these connections in our case study. We then discuss the consequences and future implications of changes in supermarket distribution. Over time, new health challenges arise, and in turn the means of addressing the challenges change, but the goal of public health remains “to reduce the amount of disease, premature death, and disease-produced discomfort and disability in the population.”2 For example, while early public health efforts focused on drinking water quality (which is still a concern today), new health issues continue to evolve, such as a global obesity epidemic, affected in part by behavioral factors like diet and physical activity. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that as of 2005 there were 1.6 billion overweight adults, 400 million of whom were obese, with the numbers continuing to increase, including among children.3 Researchers are examining ecological factors of individual behaviors in the causal pathway for obesity, including physical activity and accessibility 562 ■ NAIRNE CAMERON / KAREN E. SMOYER-TOMIC / VLADIMIR YASENOVSKIY / CARL AMRHEIN of food retail resources.4 Our focus here is on human health and urban sustainability as they relate to urban sprawl and the modes of transportation used to access supermarkets, a major source of nutritious food for the majority of Canadian households. Urbanization and Public Health As of 2007 over half of the world’s population now lives in cities, and the trend is expected to continue, with 60 percent of the global population being urban by 2030.5 Urban life offers benefits such as social and employment opportunities and a range of services. However, dating back to the ancient city of Jericho, urban areas have exhibited a particular set of health risks, including crowding , infectious disease, wastes, social problems, and poor housing quality.6 Cities in developed economies (the focus here) share some of these problems, but the health risks are often negative externalities arising from economic standards. The modern public health movement began to combat infectious disease that had arisen as a result of overcrowding and poor sanitation in cities during the industrial revolution. Along with water and sewer systems, a lower density of residential living and the separation of industry and businesses from homes were advocated. This separation of land uses continues to be legally enforced in many North American jurisdictions, despite the transition to a service economy with less noxious industries. For example, the city of Edmonton’s Zoning Bylaw does not permit commercial and residential uses to coincide (e.g., housing above street-level shops) in standard zoning classes. Only in certain cases can a site-specific zoning class be applied to allow for mixed uses.7 Following World War II, increasing car ownership, combined with automobile-centered federal and state policies and subsidies, promoted a lower density in many cities, especially in Canada and the United States. With the mushrooming demand for larger homes and properties, residential development spread out from central cities into suburbs and exurbs. Employment centers have also dispersed. These decentralizing forces have led to complex suburb-to-suburb travel patterns and have been compounded by a higher overall number of workers and a greater number of work trips. Such trends have lengthened commuting times and contributed to greater traf...