NYC PLANNERS: ZONING BONUSES WILL SPUR HEALTHY EATING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
I’ve always eaten healthy food—fruits, vegetables, lean meats, etc,—and I am extremely fortunate that my parents set me on this path, as I’m a firm believer that healthy eating habits should be established at a young age. For this, I am eternally grateful.
Unfortunately, even if they want to eat well, millions of people do not even have the opportunity to procure nutritious food, and this is a pressing public health concern, with recent spikes in the rates of diabetes, obesity, and the health complications that flow from both diseases.
This is especially a problem in dense urban areas (especially lower income neighborhoods), where many people do not own cars to travel to supermarkets and are reliant on local markets—which may be insufficient—for sustenance. Suburbanites do not necessarily have this problem, because access to a wide variety of food usually just requires a short car trip.
It is easy to assume that there is a direct linkage between land use and health problems, but has it been proven? Yes, according to a University of Alberta study.
Kim Raine, the lead author of the report, states that the study analyzed both “economic environments and build environments” to determine if a linkage exists. The underlying problem, according to Raine (as published in a March 14, 2008 Medical News Today release), is quite obvious:
When we reviewed the evidence we found, for example, that lower-income neighbourhoods were more likely to have greater access to sources of high-calorie foods, such as fast-food outlets, and lower access to supermarkets or other stores stocking healthy foods,” explained Raine. The report also found that a lower socio-economic status - which involves education level, income and employment - was often associated with increased obesity among both adults and children. “Lower personal income affects the affordability of food,” Raine said, “and that has been shown to have the most consistent influence on what people eat.
New York City Planning Commissioner Amanda Burden recently said that “people are spending their entire food budget at Duane Reade, and that means soda and chips,” according to a May 20, 2009 article in The Architect’s Newspaper, entitled “Zoning Out Junk Food.”
Both Raine and Burden raise obvious urban living concerns: without easy access to healthy food, this is creating a recipe for an ongoing health crisis.
On the other hand, even if those in suburban neighborhoods eat well, if neighborhood walkability is an issue, as well as a dearth of recreational opportunities, both may help to breed obesity.
Some hallmarks of walkability are increased residential density, mixed-use zoning and street connectivity,” said co-author John Spence from the U of A’s Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation [in the March 14, 2008 Medical News Today release]. “Conversely, factors such as urban sprawl, low intersection density, low residential density and low land-use mix tend also to favour sedentary behaviour and lower physical activity levels and promote obesity.
Therefore, applying these findings, an inference can be made that residents in dense, highly walkable neighborhoods, with access to recreational facilities and well-stocked markets, will be the most fit.
But how can urban planners compel landlords to rent to grocery stores?
They can’t.
However, through creative zoning techniques, urban planners can create certain inducements that will not only benefit the landlords and developers, but also the greater community.
Create the bonus, and as the theory goes, they will come.
I’ve seen zoning bonuses applied to affordable housing construction (higher density allowed for more affordable units), but I’ve never heard of it used to induce grocery store construction.
In the war against junk food, it makes complete sense.
According to The Architect’s Newspaper article, Commissioner Burden’s office is on the front line of this war.
With a new zoning strategy, Floor Area Ratio (“FAR”) controls—defined as the comparison between actual floor space and the lot size—will not apply to ground floor tenant space rented out to grocery stores.
From the business standpoint, this is an enormous financial benefit to landlords and developers, as it will allow the maxing out of a building’s floor area without necessitating a variance for FAR, thus spiking the ROIs for both the landlord and tenant. Of course, there’s also the public health benefit, since if developers take the bait and the tenants come, then the neighborhood would benefit from better food choices, beyond the soda and chips from Duane Reade.
The goal, according to Burden’s office, is to raise the current number of 15,000 square feet of grocery space per 10,000 people in a neighborhood to a “minimum of 30,000 square feet,” per The Architect’s Newspaper article. The targeted neighborhood include “diverse or high-growth areas like Washington Heights, Sunset Park, and Bushwick,” where access to quality food is lacking.
In addition, the city is taking additional steps to attract and retain supermarkets, and beyond just public health, this goes to long-term economic development strategies.
In a few strategically identified neighborhoods, such as Long Island City, Hunts Point, and St. George, “supermarkets are now permitted as-of-right, and the parking requirement is reduced for their use,” according to the City’s Planning Department. By creating these incentives, according to Burden’s office, locating supermarkets in undeserved areas “could keep up to $1 billion from seeping to suburban vendors as residents turn elsewhere to stock the pantry.”
I cannot think of a more straightforward “win-win” situation. In facing a nationwide health crisis, we need innovative thinking, and I’ve always felt that the most innovative strategies are those that are the most obvious. Granting zoning breaks to attract grocery stores is a huge (and obvious) step in combating against the daily junk food assault, as well as spurring economic development during tough times.
After all, we all need to eat, so why not eat well?
For some NYC residents, this may become a reality very soon.
Sources:
Appelbaum, Alec. “Zoning Out Junk Food.” The Architect’s Newspaper 20 May 2009.
“Rising Obesity Rates Influenced By Urban Planning.” Medical News Today 14 Mar 2008.
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