Assessing the impact of improved retail access on diet in a 'food desert': a preliminary report

If poor food retail access in deprived areas of British cities is linked, as suggested in many of the policy debates of the late 1990s, via compromised diets/undernutrition to poor health and widening health inequalities, what is the impact of a sudden and significant improvement in food retail access likely to be on the food consumption patterns of residents? In this paper, we describe and provide preliminary results from the first-ever UK study of a major retail provision on diet in a 'food desert' - a 'before/after' study of food consumption patterns in the highly deprived, previously poor food retail access area of Seacroft, Leeds, experiencing a sudden and significant change in its food retail access as a result of the opening of a large superstore by the UK's leading food retailer. We suggest that this study has the potential to provide some of the missing links between poor food retail access, compromised diets/undernutrition, poor health and compound social exclusion that characterised statements on the topic of 'food deserts' in the health inequalities and social exclusion debates of the late 1990s, and that its findings may have significant implications for policy debate

The Misalignment of Policy and Practice in Sustainable Urban Design

The urban renaissance that took place in major UK cities during the late 1990’s was seen as a response to counter-urbanisation and inner city decline. This chapter will argue that there has been an implementation gap between the intent of urban design policy and its impact on the ground. Drawing upon the experiences of the lead author as an urban designer in the North-East of England over this period, the text will present examples of the unforeseen consequences that have accompanied the policy trajectory of sustainability and quality within the built environment, specifically looking at a move towards community-led development away from centralisation, by passing local government in the process. The chapter will examine how this urban renaissance has emerged through policies focused on the renewal of the housing market and more sustainable communities (e.g. HMR Pathfinder) to the creation of the Big Society with devolved services and funding, initiatives aimed at individual households (e.g. the Green Deal) and stakeholder engagement. In analysing this policy journey the chapter will consider why demolition and new build invariably occurred instead of refurbishment and community development; why the accepted need for evidence largely ignored qualitative and anecdotal insight from local communities and why end state planning was pursued in preference to the need for a more adaptive and dynamic process