In this blog post I focus on an area in Ohio. Lorain, Ohio is an area that I am very familiar with and it is close to where I live.
The neighbourhood’s food environment: sidewalks, lighting, traffic, transportation and safety.
- The sidewalks in such areas are safe and provided for the pedestrians especially in the residential neighborhoods. Lighting is provided through stores, homes, sidewalks, on main streets, as well as small streets. There are bus stops for transportation, as well as other services like ubers. On the other hand, there are not as many transportation systems as other big city would have as it is a small city. Furthemore, the traffic of the city is not bad. It is a mostly quiet city and that helps eliminate pollution and traffic. As any city, safety is a big concern. There are many incidents that occur and deaths throughout the city. The police department is very understanding and helps in situations of need.
Access to Healthy Foods
- Families in the neighborhood have great access to healthy foods such as walmart. Walmart is pretty known across the US to provide families with healthy foods and other needs. There is also a Starbucks and other restaurants, although they are fast food places, there is still food access besides Walmart
Food Security
- I believe that the residents would not consider this area to be “food insecure”. There is a great amount of grocery stores and fast food restaurants around. As we can see on the map below, we can see the residential areas surrounding these stores. the grocery is placed in an area that is easy to be reached by residents. It also includes other stores in the area that makes the trips easier and quicker.
“Food Swamp” or “Food Desert”
- Neighborhood appears to be a “food swamp”. Although there is only one main grocery store, Walmart, it is still big enough to serve the needs of the residents. Walmart does not only serve as a grocery store. It includes hygiene products, fast food options, electronics, school supplies, clothes, etc. It has other fast food restaurants in there as well such as Subway, and walmart foods. There is also a “Home Depot” in that area more known as a “plaza” that includes home products. The residents should be secure in the aspect of food as well as other needs.
Improving the food-ways of the neighbourhood.
- I believe that there are good sources of food in the neighborhoods. I also believe that there is always a place for progress. In this case, providing more grocery stories would be beneficial. Furthermore providing an organic supermarket can be very helpful. It can help the families who are vegan or have a specific diet in which only organic foods are used. I further think that providing the city with more transportation is necessary. Although it is a small city, many people do not have access to transportation. By providing these services it would be more efficient for the residents. Planners can conduct meetings with people from the government that include families who can speak about their needs. Therefore a better change can be achieved for a better city.
(A map that I drew according to my studies. It shows the plaza that I have been studying including Walmart and the other places surrounding it).
Sources:
Google maps.
