This study documented the racial and spatial disparities in retail food environments in Erie County, New York. The results, published in the Journal of Planning Education and Research (2008), informed policy and programming on food systems by the Massachusetts Avenue Project, the City of Buffalo, and other local groups in Buffalo, New York.
Researchers: Samina Raja, PhD, Pavan Yadav (ESRI; former graduate student at UB)
Sponsor(s): USDA/MAP
This pilot project explored the impact of intergovernmental transfers on spurring urban sprawl in rural Genesee County, NY.
Investigators: G. William Page, PhD (Department of Urban and Regional Planning, UB) and Samina Raja, PhD (Department of Urban and Regional Planning, UB)
Sponsor: Environmental Management Alternatives Program, Environment and Society Institute, University at Buffalo
This pilot project tested the influence of the built environment on physical activity and obesity among youth living in Erie County, New York.
Investigators: James Roemmich, PhD (USDA; formerly Division of Behavioral Medicine, UB); Samina Raja, PhD (Department of Urban and Regional Planning, UB); Leonard Epstein, PhD (Division of Behavioral Medicine, UB); Li Yin (Department of Urban and Regional Planning, UB)
Sponsor(s): Interdisciplinary Research and Creative Activities Fund (IRCAF), University at Buffalo
This five-year comprehensive research, education, and extension initiative aims to strengthen local and regional food systems in the United States by building local governments’ capacity to reconnect farmers with under-served consumers.
The research team will conduct a national study of innovative food systems policies that simultaneously promote food access and strengthen the local and regional agricultural sector. Drawing on the successes and challenges of these policies, the team will develop policy tools and provide technical assistance to 20 vulnerable urban and rural communities in the United States. The technical assistance is designed to build the capacity of their local government staff, extension educators, consumers, and farmers to develop and implement more effective food system policies.
In order to nurture the next generation of food systems policy thinkers and professionals, the team will prepare and disseminate multi-disciplinary curricular materials on food systems planning and policy for adoption in universities across the United States.
Partners: American Farmland Trust, American Planning Association, Cultivating Healthy Places, Ohio State University, and the University at Buffalo (project lead)
Sponsor(s): Agriculture and Food Research Initiative, National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Visit the dedicated project site: http://growingfoodconnections.org/
This study evaluates the role of children’s engagement in community food projects on their eating behaviors and their awareness of the local food system. This study, conducted in close partnership with our local community partner Massachusetts Avenue Project, focuses on youth living in Buffalo, NY.
Partners: Massachusetts Avenue Project (MAP)
Sponsors: USDA, MAP
Using Delaware Park, a signature park designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, as a site of inquiry, this study examines the role of park design on the type, location, and intensity of physical activity among children. Subjects include children between the ages of 8 and 15 years who live within one mile of Delaware park. Intensity of physical activity was measured using an accelerometer and location of physical activity was measured using a global positioning system (GPS).
Investigators: James Roemmich, PhD (USDA; formerly with Division of Behavioral Medicine, UB), Samina Raja, PhD (Urban and Regional Planning, UB), Li Yin, PhD (Urban and Regional Planning, UB) and Leonard H Epstein, PhD (Division of Behavioral Medicine, UB)
Sponsors: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
The study is investigating the influence of the built environment on physical activity when sedentary activity is restricted among obese adolescents. Sedentary behavior was restricted using a TV and computer allowance device. Participants were selected based on their home’s location in relation to parks and public recreation facilities. Half of the subjects’ homes were located within high accessibility to parks and public recreation facilities. The study utilized GPS units and accelerometers to track subject’s movement and intensity of physical activity.
Investigators: James N. Roemmich, Phd (USDA; formerly Division of Behavioral Medicine, UB), Leonard H. Epstein, PhD (Division of Behavioral Medicine), Samina Raja, PhD (Urban and Regional Planning), Li Yin, PhD (Urban and Regional Planning)
Sponsor(s): National Institute of Health (NIH)
Maryam Khojasteh, research support specialist in Growing Food Connections, has her focus on bridging the gap between vulnerable consumers and farmers.
Maryam holds a MUP from the University at Buffalo and a BA in Urban Planning from the University of Tehran, where she became interested in revitalizing low-income neighborhoods. After being introduced to the joint of public health and built environment, she tried to connect her initial interest in economic development with food systems planning. Her current research explores the role of immigrants in creating healthier food environments. Her research is focused on understanding the motivation of immigrants to engage in healthy food retail, the challenges they experience, and the reasoning behind their failure or success as healthy food retail entrepreneurs.
Maryam can be reached at mkhojast@buffalo.edu
Subhashni Raj is a Kauffman Fellow pursuing her doctoral studies in Urban and Regional Planning at the University at Buffalo. Subhashni first came to UB as a Fulbright from Fiji. Subhashni holds a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning from University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, a Post Graduate Diploma in Sustainable Development Practices in Public Policy from TERI University and a Bachelor’s degree from Bangalore University in Microbiology, Chemistry and Zoology.
Her research looks at the intersection between climate change and food systems, and more specifically at the impacts of climate change on food systems. She is also interested in food sovereignty and issues of justice and ethics in the food system.
Prior to her graduate studies at UB, Subhashni was a Project Technical Assistant at the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC). In this role, she worked on a wide variety of projects pertaining to Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) and water governance. Subhashni is active in climate advocacy and has represented the pacific at climate negotiations and works at grassroots level to push for change.
Subhashni can be reached at subhashn@buffalo.edu