Faculty Sponsor
Elaina Johns-Wolfe
Final Abstract for URS Program
According to The United States Department of Agriculture, 44 million Americans, including 13 million children, are food insecure as of 2022. Many factors contribute to inadequate food access and food insecurity, including poverty, unemployment, low wages, historical redlining, and structural racism.
As a city with minimal thoroughfares that are safe to walk along and an often unreliable or time-consuming public transit system, I wanted to visualize how the mode of transportation impacts a resident’s access to food in Saint Louis City.
Based on my findings, the Saint Louis Metro Bus System provides the most access to residents in Saint Louis by being within half a mile of their residence and driving through unwalkable parts of the city. The second mode of transportation that ensures access to food is driving a car.
Due to the historical and systemic nature of food insecurity and disparate food access across Saint Louis, it is evident that many of these consequences are still felt as a lived reality for residents today. Based on these findings, I recommend investing in existing bus infrastructure to improve safety, reliability, and affordability while constructing new stops in still low-access communities.
Presentation Type
Visual Presentation
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
April 2023