The neighborhood retail food environment is an indicator of short- and long-term health conditions. Disparities in Covid-19 health outcomes have been identified as specifically impacting minority populations in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, MI. This study explores these cities' neighborhood retail food environments alongside neighborhood racial composition with three measures: Modified Retail Food Environment Index (mRFEI), Grocery Store Density, and Fast-Food Density. This study's purpose is to determine whether racial composition predicts the food environment and therefore may contribute to poor health outcomes. The results indicate that high Asian population has a significant relationship to healthier food environments while high Black population is related to low neighborhood fast-food density. Generally, neighborhoods with a high Black population show worse food environment characteristics, while a high Asian population was linked to healthier food environments. Moving forward, further research is needed on this subject to determine the extent to which these findings influence Covid-19 health outcomes.
","abstract_html":"<p>The neighborhood retail food environment is an indicator of short- and long-term health conditions. Disparities in Covid-19 health outcomes have been identified as specifically impacting minority populations in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, MI. This study explores these cities' neighborhood retail food environments alongside neighborhood racial composition with three measures: Modified Retail Food Environment Index (mRFEI), Grocery Store Density, and Fast-Food Density. This study's purpose is to determine whether racial composition predicts the food environment and therefore may contribute to poor health outcomes. The results indicate that high Asian population has a significant relationship to healthier food environments while high Black population is related to low neighborhood fast-food density. Generally, neighborhoods with a high Black population show worse food environment characteristics, while a high Asian population was linked to healthier food environments. Moving forward, further research is needed on this subject to determine the extent to which these findings influence Covid-19 health outcomes.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Srygley, Sara L."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":"Open Access Thesis","degree_discipline":"Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Grigoris Argeros, Ph.D.","Robert Orrange, Ph.D."],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2021,"date_issued":"2021-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2021-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:40Z","subjects":["Food Access","Food Security","Neighbor Racial Characteristics","Neighborhood Food Environment","Racial Disparities","Retail Food Environment","Sociology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.emich.edu/theses/1105","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Grigoris Argeros, Ph.D.","Robert Orrange, Ph.D."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Srygley, Sara L."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2022-02-01T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Food Access","Food Security","Neighbor Racial Characteristics","Neighborhood Food Environment","Racial Disparities","Retail Food Environment","Sociology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/1105"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The neighborhood retail food environment is an indicator of short- and long-term health conditions. Disparities in Covid-19 health outcomes have been identified as specifically impacting minority populations in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, MI. This study explores these cities' neighborhood retail food environments alongside neighborhood racial composition with three measures: Modified Retail Food Environment Index (mRFEI), Grocery Store Density, and Fast-Food Density. This study's purpose is to determine whether racial composition predicts the food environment and therefore may contribute to poor health outcomes. The results indicate that high Asian population has a significant relationship to healthier food environments while high Black population is related to low neighborhood fast-food density. Generally, neighborhoods with a high Black population show worse food environment characteristics, while a high Asian population was linked to healthier food environments. Moving forward, further research is needed on this subject to determine the extent to which these findings influence Covid-19 health outcomes.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Exploring the food landscape in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, MI: Neighborhood racial characteristics and food availability"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Grigoris Argeros, Ph.D.","Robert Orrange, Ph.D."],"dc:creator":["Srygley, Sara L."],"dc:date.available":["2022-02-01T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The neighborhood retail food environment is an indicator of short- and long-term health conditions. Disparities in Covid-19 health outcomes have been identified as specifically impacting minority populations in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, MI. This study explores these cities' neighborhood retail food environments alongside neighborhood racial composition with three measures: Modified Retail Food Environment Index (mRFEI), Grocery Store Density, and Fast-Food Density. This study's purpose is to determine whether racial composition predicts the food environment and therefore may contribute to poor health outcomes. The results indicate that high Asian population has a significant relationship to healthier food environments while high Black population is related to low neighborhood fast-food density. Generally, neighborhoods with a high Black population show worse food environment characteristics, while a high Asian population was linked to healthier food environments. Moving forward, further research is needed on this subject to determine the extent to which these findings influence Covid-19 health outcomes.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/1105"],"dc:subject":["Food Access","Food Security","Neighbor Racial Characteristics","Neighborhood Food Environment","Racial Disparities","Retail Food Environment","Sociology"],"dc:title":["Exploring the food landscape in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, MI: Neighborhood racial characteristics and food availability"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (MA)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:40Z"}