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.
(Read full post)
Showing posts with label disparity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label disparity. Show all posts
Monday, March 9, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
Hunger and the Weakness of the Social Fabric of America
As the economic crisis intensifies, weaknesses in the social fabric of the United States will be come increasingly apparent. One of these holes appears at the intersection of wealth disparity, employment, racism, physical communities, and food insecurity. An amazing panel discussion hosted by the Center for American Progress entitled “All You Can Eat? How Hungry is America in Good Times versus Recession?” took place on February 6, 2009.
The main thrust of the talk is on food programs, but speakers prodigiously bridge concerns of hypocrisy, stresses, and stigma of social support programs; health impacts of community, housing, and wealth disparities; the insensibility of focusing on downstream issues such as healthy choices and obesity; the importance of early childhood wellness; the cost savings of universalizing means-testing programs; and the true incentives of social equalization programs.
Panelists include Joel Berg, director of the NYC Coalition Against Hunger (NYCCAH) and author of All You Can Eat? How Hungry is America; Judith Bell, President of PolicyLink who studies disparities of access to food in poor and minority communities; and Jim Weill, president of the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC).
Excerpt from Joel Berg on the admonitions of those who advocate changes in the food preparation habits of poor, overweight Americans:
“I remind them that we’ve lectured low-income people that they should be working, and now only 10% of the people in poverty are on public assistance in America. They are working 2, 3, 4 jobs. They don’t have nannies for their kids. And now we’re saying they should spend 5 hours to cook their beans to be responsible.”
Most importantly, the panelists discuss the real possibility of and propose solutions to eliminate hunger and disparities during this opportune time.
---
On an unrelated note, two perspectives on of the Horatio Alger Myth (or, “pulling yourself up by your bootstraps”) in the United States:
A Political Science Perspective: The Horatio Alger Myth in the American Political Mind
A Literary Perspective: Gimme A Break! Mark Twain Lampoons the Horatio Alger Myth
(Read full post)
The main thrust of the talk is on food programs, but speakers prodigiously bridge concerns of hypocrisy, stresses, and stigma of social support programs; health impacts of community, housing, and wealth disparities; the insensibility of focusing on downstream issues such as healthy choices and obesity; the importance of early childhood wellness; the cost savings of universalizing means-testing programs; and the true incentives of social equalization programs.
Panelists include Joel Berg, director of the NYC Coalition Against Hunger (NYCCAH) and author of All You Can Eat? How Hungry is America; Judith Bell, President of PolicyLink who studies disparities of access to food in poor and minority communities; and Jim Weill, president of the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC).
Excerpt from Joel Berg on the admonitions of those who advocate changes in the food preparation habits of poor, overweight Americans:
“I remind them that we’ve lectured low-income people that they should be working, and now only 10% of the people in poverty are on public assistance in America. They are working 2, 3, 4 jobs. They don’t have nannies for their kids. And now we’re saying they should spend 5 hours to cook their beans to be responsible.”
Most importantly, the panelists discuss the real possibility of and propose solutions to eliminate hunger and disparities during this opportune time.
---
On an unrelated note, two perspectives on of the Horatio Alger Myth (or, “pulling yourself up by your bootstraps”) in the United States:
A Political Science Perspective: The Horatio Alger Myth in the American Political Mind
A Literary Perspective: Gimme A Break! Mark Twain Lampoons the Horatio Alger Myth
(Read full post)
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