title: Fast-food fights: news coverage of local efforts to improve food environments through land-use regulations, 2001-2013. [corrected].
abstract: Zoning and other land-use policies are a promising but controversial strategy to improve community food environments. To understand how these policies are debated, we searched existing databases and the Internet and analyzed news coverage and legal documentation of efforts to restrict fast-food restaurants in 77 US communities in 2001 to 2013. Policies intended to improve community health were most often proposed in urban, racially diverse communities; policies proposed in small towns or majority-White communities aimed to protect community aesthetics or local businesses. Health-focused policies were subject to more criticism than other policies and were generally less successful. Our findings could inform the work of advocates interested in employing land-use policies to improve the food environment in their own communities.
authors.affiliation: Laura Nixon, Pamela Mejia, Lori Dorfman, Andrew Cheyne, and Sandra Young are with Berkeley Media Studies Group, Public Health Institute, Berkeley, CA. Lissy C. Friedman and Mark A. Gottlieb are with the Public Health Advocacy Institute, Boston, MA. Heather Wooten is with ChangeLab Solutions, Oakland, CA.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Nixon
authors.forename: Pamela
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mejia
authors.forename: Lori
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dorfman
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cheyne
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Young
authors.forename: Lissy C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Friedman
authors.forename: Mark A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Gottlieb
authors.forename: Heather
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wooten
mesh_terms: D015706:Bibliometrics; D002958:City Planning / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000639:trends; D016208:Databases, Factual / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004779:Environment Design / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000639:trends; D057140:Fast Foods / Q000592:standards / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D033161:Government Regulation; D006291:Health Policy / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009111:Local Government; D009524:Newspapers as Topic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012147:Restaurants / Q000145:classification / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States