Work

Using spatial data to identify food accessibility in large African cities

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: • We develop a methodology to combine publicly available spatial data to assess sub-residential scale urban food accessibility. • We use food retailer, transportation, population, and nighttime lights data sets to create poverty and spatial food access indices. • We integrate the indices to identify socio-economic standing and food access at sub-residential area scales. • This approach identifies low food-access, high poverty areas – areas that are most likely to be food insecure. • This methodology can be applied to other large African cities to target urban food insecurity interventions. Current food security metrics are poorly suited to evaluate urban food security in Africa because they do not capture important spatial dimensions of food accessibility. The spatial dimensions of food accessibility are related to the interaction between changes in individual entitlements, or the ability to acquire food, and the availability of and accessibility to different forms of food-related infrastructure. The unavailability or periodicity of food security data, and high cost of collecting on-the-ground data, further complicates our ability to measure urban food security in rapidly growing urban areas. Leveraging and integrating spatial data on food retailer distribution, public transportation and road networks, population density, and access to electricity (nighttime lights) can provide sub-residential area scale insights into urban food accessibility and food environments − the areas where individuals acquire and consume food. We integrate a food access measure with a poverty index derived from remotely sensed data to empirically demonstrate spatial food access variability across food environments in Lusaka, Zambia. This novel spatial approach identifies areas of low food access and high poverty at a sub-residential area scale, highlighting areas that are most vulnerable to food insecurity. This method can be applied to other urban contexts to improve intervention targeting by policymakers and development practitioners. We demonstrate that highlighting the role of the spatial dimensions of food accessibility emphasizes the interaction between city planning and infrastructure, which contributes to the food environment, while also providing a means of understanding the spatial and systemic conditions that contribute to or hinder urban food security.

Source: World Development

DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2025.107298

Authors: Jordan Blekking, Kurt Waldman, Lisa-Marie Hemerijckx, Mboyonga Kaputula

Institutions: University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Cornell University, Research Foundation - Flanders, KU Leuven

Language: English

Topic: Food Security and Health in Diverse Populations

Subfield: General Health Professions

Field: Health Professions

Domain: Health Sciences

SDGs: Sustainable cities and communities, Reduced inequalities, Zero hunger, No poverty, Good health and well-being

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $5,895