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An exploration of the role of planners in supporting local access to grocery stores Wittgens, Margaret Suzanne
Abstract
This thesis explores the role of planners in supporting local access to grocery stores in Canadian cities. Grocery stores are an important neighbourhood feature- they not only provide access to nutritional food, they also contribute to neighbourhood vitality, acting as a hub for local economic activity and community life. In recent years, evidence has emerged that, as a result of grocery industry trends towards larger formats, access to grocery stores has diminished in areas of cities in North America and the United Kingdom. Planners have a role in ensuring that basic services—such as housing and water— are adequately provided. This thesis argues that grocery stores, as a basic service that contributes to individual and community health, warrant planning attention. However, grocery store access has not received systematic attention by the planning profession. There is little literature on the role that planners play in supporting grocery access. This thesis explores the opportunities and constraints facing planners in supporting local access to grocery stores. It is based on a review of relevant literature and on case studies of planning attention to grocery stores in Edmonton, Alberta and Vancouver, British Columbia. The research reveals that planners in these two cities recognize the importance of grocery stores and in some cases have undertaken efforts to improve grocery access. Typically, these efforts aim to address neighbourhood vitality rather than food access. The Vancouver and Edmonton experiences reveal the influence of political context on planner involvement in grocery access. They also indicate that planners play a key role in promoting an accessible built environment and illustrate that planners are wellpositioned to engage in community dialogue on grocery access needs; there is an opportunity to raise the profile of food access in discussions focused on neighbourhood vitality. This thesis concludes that there is a need to increase the connections between social planning and land use planning. Planners can play an important role in drawing attention to grocery access within various planning processes.
Item Metadata
Title |
An exploration of the role of planners in supporting local access to grocery stores
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Creator | |
Publisher |
University of British Columbia
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Date Issued |
2006
|
Description |
This thesis explores the role of planners in supporting local access to grocery stores in
Canadian cities. Grocery stores are an important neighbourhood feature- they not only
provide access to nutritional food, they also contribute to neighbourhood vitality, acting
as a hub for local economic activity and community life. In recent years, evidence has
emerged that, as a result of grocery industry trends towards larger formats, access to
grocery stores has diminished in areas of cities in North America and the United
Kingdom. Planners have a role in ensuring that basic services—such as housing and
water— are adequately provided. This thesis argues that grocery stores, as a basic
service that contributes to individual and community health, warrant planning attention.
However, grocery store access has not received systematic attention by the planning
profession. There is little literature on the role that planners play in supporting grocery
access. This thesis explores the opportunities and constraints facing planners in
supporting local access to grocery stores. It is based on a review of relevant literature
and on case studies of planning attention to grocery stores in Edmonton, Alberta and
Vancouver, British Columbia. The research reveals that planners in these two cities
recognize the importance of grocery stores and in some cases have undertaken efforts
to improve grocery access. Typically, these efforts aim to address neighbourhood
vitality rather than food access.
The Vancouver and Edmonton experiences reveal the influence of political context on
planner involvement in grocery access. They also indicate that planners play a key role
in promoting an accessible built environment and illustrate that planners are wellpositioned
to engage in community dialogue on grocery access needs; there is an
opportunity to raise the profile of food access in discussions focused on neighbourhood
vitality.
This thesis concludes that there is a need to increase the connections between social
planning and land use planning. Planners can play an important role in drawing
attention to grocery access within various planning processes.
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Genre | |
Type | |
Language |
eng
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Date Available |
2010-01-08
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Provider |
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
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Rights |
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.
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DOI |
10.14288/1.0092653
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URI | |
Degree | |
Program | |
Affiliation | |
Degree Grantor |
University of British Columbia
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Graduation Date |
2006-05
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Campus | |
Scholarly Level |
Graduate
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Aggregated Source Repository |
DSpace
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Item Media
Item Citations and Data
Rights
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.