Place Matters

One of the most frequently presented arguments against systematic changes is that of individual agency. An initial response to this may be that, ideally yes, an individual has the potential to overcome any sort of adversity present in her or his life. Unfortunately, a large and ever growing body of evidence is showing that policy- (and ideology-) induced inequalities and disparities are stacking the deck against most individuals and especially individuals of certain populations. One of the most compelling manifestations of this is racial minorities that live in concentrated geographies (e.g. that are affected by deliberate and incidental housing, zoning, and economic policies). Below begins a list of damning evidence...

(check back for updates, feel free to post other studies through comments)

Zenk SN, et al. “Neighborhood racial composition, neighborhood poverty, and the spatial accessibility of supermarkets in metropolitan Detroit.” American Journal of Public Health. 2005; 95:660-667.

Summary of findings:
Statistically significant increases in distance to supermarkets were found in poorer neighborhoods when there were medium and high percentages of African Americans. Contrarily, distances to supermarkets were relatively consistent regardless of income for neighborhoods with low percentages of African American. The disparity of access between low percentage A.A. and high percentage A.A. poor neighborhoods were extreme, with an average of 1.10 to 1.15 miles greater distances to supermarkets.

Interpretation:
It's much harder to make the "healthy choices" in a poor African American neighborhood than in white neighborhoods. Why is this? Implicated, intertwined, and reinforcing factors include historically racist / exclusionary zoning policies ("redlining"), poverty dispersal or urban renewal factors, resultant deterioration in social environment, lack of political will or power, lack of employment/economic power, loss of tax base.