Racial segregation as a fundamental cause of
fast food density in black neighborhoods
Cammie G., Fall 2014
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Essay by Naa Oyo A. Kwate
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Published in Health & Place in 2008
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Examines the relationship between racebased residential segregation and density of
fast food restaurants.
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We already know that fast food is terribly unhealthy.
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Obesity has increased at a steady rate across all demographics in
the US but is highest among disadvantaged groups.
◦ “Between 1971-1974 and 1999-2000, prevalence of obesity among Black
women of medium education rose from 20.7% to 54.4% and from 16.1% to
22.6% among their male counterparts.”
◦ “Class 3 obesity (extreme obesity) is also highest among Black women,
with 6% prevalence in 2000, compared to 2.2% among White women.”
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Areas with more fast food restaurants have higher morbidity and
mortality and coronary syndromes.
Black neighborhoods in the US often share characteristics with
food deserts where “it is easier to get fried chicken than a fresh
apple” because there is not adequate access to supermarkets and
a saturation of fast food.
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Kwate identifies that “fast food may be dense
in Black neighborhoods due to the
downstream effects of segregation through
four pathways.”
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Population Characteristics
Economic Characteristics
Physical infrastructure
Social processes
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Segregation
◦ Concentration of African Americans in general
◦ Concentration of low income in particular
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Both populations are targeted by fast food
companies
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Poor retail areas
◦ Less competition
◦ Low rent
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Labor surplus
◦
◦
◦
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Access to constant supply
Jobs are simplified
Unskilled labor
Low costs
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Zoning- laws outline what kinds of buildings can be
constructed and where
◦ Those with money, political power, and connections are more
likely to be able to influence which business are able to open in
their neighborhoods while those without don’t.
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Neighborhood features
◦ Black neighborhoods tend to be “burdened with negative
neighborhood features such as deteriorated housing, disorder,
and vacant lots.
◦ Buildings are “fortified” for a sense of security with things such as
metal shutters and bulletproof glass. This further marks the
neighborhood as “the ghetto” furthering the prevalence of fast
food.
◦ Black neighborhoods are much less likely to have buildings
designated as landmarks which devalues them further and “fosters
the dumping of unwanted land uses.”
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Neighborhood stigma
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Community political strength
◦ Black neighborhoods are often stigmatized as spaces inhabited by
“undesirables”.
◦ Because they don’t fit the marketing profiles for more upscale
retailers, some tend to shun the neighborhoods.
◦ Starbucks, which falls under the quick-service umbrella,
historically attempts to attract urban professionals with
disposable income. Typical marketing profiles would say that
Black neighborhoods are not compatible with this. “Only with the
reconfiguration of area demographics does Starbucks enter these
communities, thus becoming ‘a beacon marking the
transformation of a once-feared neighborhood to one safe for
latte’”
◦ Even cities with large Black neighborhoods will find their
representatives marginalized.
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Individual-level interventions
◦ Likely to be ineffective
◦ More likely to be implemented and funded because
that’s what public policy makers and government
officials are more receptive to.
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Attention needs to be given to the role of the
food industry
◦ inequalities underlying the production of its
markets
◦ Patterns in consumption

Kwate, N. (2008). Fried Chicken And Fresh
Apples: Racial Segregation As A
Fundamental Cause Of Fast Food Density
in Black Neighborhoods. Health & Place,
32-44.