URP 4273 Group 9:
Mariana Ferreiro
Miguel Castaneda
Joshua Herrera
Sean Comerford
All our discussions were performed on a Facebook group at (https://www.facebook.com/groups/477698208963154/)
We used this blog for the final presentation.
Child Friendly Cities
Topic:
We looked at the proportion of healthy to unhealthy food establishments and analyze how accessible they are to middle school kids based on how close they are to the middle schools. We then ranked the different school districts in child friendliness based on their "fast food" ratio and “fast food probability” (the higher the ratio and probability, the more unhealthy and therefor less child friendly the zone is).
Summary of background:
Studies have shown that the
"food environment" around you influences what you are eating. Lack of
access to food stores that supply healthy food, as well as increased access to
unhealthy fast food restaurants increases the risk for obesity and diabetes. The
study shows that unhealthy food supply stores are more likely to be located
near schools, and the proximity to fast food stores has been linked to an
increased risk of obesity in school-aged children. http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/obesity-prevention-source/obesity-causes/food-environment-and-obesity/#schools. Another study performed by
the Florida Department of Education indicated that children of middle school
age should only walk for two miles. We used information from both of these
studies later on in the methods and analysis section of our project. http://www.fldoe.org/ogc/opinions/2002/02-09.asp
Method:
For our project we will be looking
at the number of healthy food places compared to the number of unhealthy food
places. We will then analyze this and create a two-mile radius around the
schools. This radius was determined based on information from the Florida department
of Education.
Layers we used:
Middle school zones layer- we will
be using this layer to divide Alachua County into nine different zones. We will
be ranking these middle school zones based on the "fast food" ratio
and the "fast food" proportion. Using these we will determine which
zones are healthier and therefore more child friendly.
Middle School layer- this layer will
show us the location of each middle school and using this we will be able to
set up a two mile radius around them to figure out which fast food and healthy
food restaurants are actually accessible to middle school aged kids.
Natural Food stores, Health Diet
Food Stores, and Farmers Market Layers- We will combine these into one layer
for our final map. These will represent the healthy food places that middle
school kids could eat at.
Fast-food restaurant, Restaurant and
Fast food layers- we will be combining these two layers into one layer for our
final map. These will represent the unhealthy food places that are available to
middle school aged kids.
Using GIS we performed a buffer analysis using a two mile radius to see which fast food and healthy food stores were within this radius.
Each
school zone was then ranked by how child-friendly they are. This was determined
by using the following: the "fast food ratio" (Fast food/Healthy) and
"Fast food probability." This gave us an idea of the availability
Analysis:
We analyzed the child-friendliness of each school zone
based on the food establishments that were within a two-mile radius of the
middle school. These are the places that were accessible to middle school aged
kids.
We analyzed each school zone using the two formulas
that we developed. We created a scale from 1 to 21 to assess the probability
that kids would go to the restaurants within the two-mile zone. We then divided
this scale evenly into thirds. The result was the following scale:
·
Low or healthy: 0-7
·
Medium or semi-healthy: 8- 14
·
High or unhealthy: 14-21
After completing this analysis, we
concluded that the healthy middle school zones were Oak View Middle and
Hawthorne Jr/Sr High. The semi-healthy middle school zones were High Springs
Elementary and Middle, Ft. Clarke Middle, Mebane Middle and Kanapaha Middle.
The unhealthy zones were West Wood Middle, Lincoln Middle, and Bishop Middle.
We created a second scale from 1 to 23 to assess the ratio
of fast-food restaurants to healthy restaurants. We then again divided the
scale into thirds. The result was the following scale:
·
Low or healthy: 0-7
·
Medium or semi-healthy: 8-14
·
High or unhealthy: 15-23
After completing this analysis, we
concluded that the healthy middle school zones were Oak View Middle and Hawthorne
Jr/Sr High. The semi-healthy middle school zones were High Springs Elementary
and Middle, Ft. Clarke Middle, and Kanapaha Middle. The unhealthy Middle School
Zones were Mebane Middle, West Wood Middle, Lincoln Middle, and Bishop Middle.
School zones that are red are the
ones that are least child friendly, whereas the green zones are the
friendliest. Even though the two
analyses were conducted completely differently, we got similar results for
both. The only school zone that changed location on the healthiness scale was
Mebane Middle. This change in location is due to the fact that the fast food
restaurants within the two-mile radius are further away from the middle school,
and so kids are less likely to go there.
Conclusion:
The middle school zones that are unhealthy or
semi-healthy are not child-friendly because kids in this zone are at higher
risk of becoming obese or developing diabetes because of their proximity to
fast food restaurants. They can improve by adding more healthy choices around
the schools and teaching kids about the dangers of eating too much unhealthy
food. The healthy middle school zones are the ones that are more child-friendly
because kids in these areas will lead healthier lives.
