With low-income children much more likely to be overweight than their wealthier counterparts, Sarah Parsons looks at six innovative ideas for improving access to healthy foods in low-income communities.
The six areas of innovation highlighted by Parsons include efforts focused on grocery incubators, healthy corner stores, food education, farm-to-school programs, farmers' market coupon programs, and urban farms and food pantries.
The locally and nationally oriented programs she identifies seek to tackle the food desert phenomenon, wherein "More than 20 million people live in food deserts, areas where at least a third of the population lives more than one mile from the nearest grocery store (10 miles in rural areas)," by increasing education, availability, and affordability of healthy food.
FULL STORY: Just Deserts: 6 Ways to Bring Good Food to Poor Neighborhoods
Albuquerque’s Microtransit: A Planner’s Answer to Food Access Gaps
New microtransit vans in Albuquerque aim to close food access gaps by linking low-income areas to grocery stores, cutting travel times by 30 percent and offering planners a scalable model for equity-focused transit.
Food Insecurity in LA County Remains Alarmingly High Despite Some Improvement
Food insecurity in Los Angeles County remains above the national average, disproportionately affecting low-income and minority households, with researchers calling for expanded assistance and systemic solutions to address ongoing disparities.
One Weird Trick for Eliminating Food Deserts
How enforcing one federal law, ignored since the 1980s, could bring back small grocers and ensure more people have convenient access to fresh foods.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Vehicle-related Deaths Drop 29% in Richmond, VA
The seventh year of the city's Vision Zero strategy also cut the number of people killed in alcohol-related crashes by half.
As Trump Phases Out FEMA, Is It Time to Flee the Floodplains?
With less federal funding available for disaster relief efforts, the need to relocate at-risk communities is more urgent than ever.
More Apartments Are Being Built in Less-Dense Areas
Rising housing costs in urban cores and a demand for rental housing is driving more multifamily development to exurbs and small metros.
Plastic Bag Bans Actually Worked
U.S. coastal areas with plastic bag bans or fees saw significant reductions in plastic bag pollution — but plastic waste as a whole is growing.
Improving Indoor Air Quality, One Block at a Time
A movement to switch to electric appliances at the neighborhood scale is taking off in California.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
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Smith Gee Studio
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
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Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Camden Redevelopment Agency
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Municipality of Princeton (NJ)