FoodSheds and Community Analytics

A few weeks ago, during US Presidents Day, Big Window Labs and Code For America held a Data Camp hackathon. Over the past two years there has been an increasing, and interesting, interaction at the convergence of technologists and government policy. Driven by, and rewarded with, open data and communications, developers and users are able to quickly create intriguing discoveries and useful applications.

One particular application that was created in that one day of development was a DC FoodShed site where residents of Washington, DC, as well as local government and organizations, can investigate the availability of grocery stores and distances.

A Food Desert is a region with limited or no access to healthy foods. Some DC neighborhoods have limited shopping options for residents to buy fresh groceries and produce. This map illustrates the disproportionate availability of grocery stores across the city.

The team used GeoCommons to create a map and our new analysis tools such as buffer, which calculates the distance from locations. In this case, showing the food options in DC show the quarter-, half-, and full-mile areas that are covered by these stores. The result is a simple visualization to indicate the easy availability of healthy buying options and “food deserts” where reduced access may result in poor food purchasing options.

This morning, a discussion emerged on twitter between Alex Howard and Clay Johnson on the utility of such an application. @digiphile questioned about the problem it may solve and who may use it and@cjoh pondered if there was an inverse correlation with liquor stores.

The simple answer is, thanks to open data, and collaborative tools such as GeoCommons, anyone can use this and ask their own questions. The source of all the data and the map itself is available with a simple search. In order for Clay to answer his question he can make his own map with a click and add DC Liquor stores. Perhaps he could even add Farmer’s Markets that may offer alternatives to grocery stores.

The capability here is to ask pose a question or hypothesis and immediately share that with a community. That community can then respond to provide their own perspective, ask additional questions, or suggest solutions. Data for data’s sake doesn’t solve any problems – but in access the data and tools, we can effectively collaborate in specific and demonstrable ways that help lead us all to better understanding and cooperation.