Abstract
Access to food products is essential to sustain life. In this paper, we discuss the differences concerning accessibility levels to food retailers among potential consumers in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The goal was to characterize spatial mismatches regarding opportunities to access food and identify suitable areas for sustainable last food mile solutions, such as non-motorized home delivery and purchase trips. For this, we have spatially related: (i) the population concentration; (ii) the income of households and (iii) accessibility measures considering both the spatial structure of food retailers and the distance between households and stores, considering the food last mile. We have then used spatial statistics (Global Moran’s I index, average nearest neighborhood analysis) and spatial analyses (overlay and processing) to determine the spatial pattern and the relation of the variables population, income, and accessibility to food retailers. We have considered the cumulative-opportunity measure, which is an indicator of the number of opportunities that can be reached within a time threshold. There is great spatial differentiation regarding the accessibility levels of food retailers and the results can be considered to support the development of policy and land use regulation that can stimulate non-motorized and collaborative delivery as an effective last-mile solution.
Highlights
Introduction and BackgroundThe concentration of people in cities is a growing worldwide phenomenon and, by 2050, there will be at least nine billion people in the world, with two-thirds of them living in cities [1,2]
We present an exploratory analysis of the accessibility of food systems in an important Brazilian city
The results indicate that there is a significant spatial concentration of food retailers in Belo Horizonte
Summary
Introduction and BackgroundThe concentration of people in cities is a growing worldwide phenomenon and, by 2050, there will be at least nine billion people in the world, with two-thirds of them living in cities [1,2]. The consumption of food products will be concentrated in urban areas while mainly produced in rural regions. These products need to reach consumers through a complex supply chain, which comprises different stakeholders, facilities, territories and decision-making processes. A concept defined as “the process for totally optimizing the logistics and transport activities by private companies with support of advanced information systems in urban areas considering the traffic environment, the traffic congestion, the traffic safety and the energy savings within the framework of a market economy” [7], have incorporated social and environmental issues [8], highlighting its importance for the promotion of livable and sustainable cities. Most of the indicators considered to include freight movement in urban plans, in this geographic context, are not based on the spatial structure of the city [6,10,11,12]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
