The intuition behind my dissertation project is that a phenomenon of uncontrolled change in local environments may be harmful to health through a destabilization of food environments. For example, an area where property value is increasing due to speculation or other housing market processes may see a decrease in small food stores (most of whom carry healthy products in Spain) and an increase in supermarkets (that bring with them ultra-processed foods). Moreover, and without involving property value, increased residential turnover (flows of people going in and out of the neighborhood) may also be followed by a food store turnover, reducing ties of food stores with neighbors. Health-wise I hypothesized a very immediate and negative effect on diabetes incidence and control.
The following sections on data sources and methods give some pointers into where I obtained the data and how everything has turned out. I'm working on a few papers now that will make up the body of this dissertation:
Measuring Neighborhood Social and Economic Change
Neighborhood Social and Economic Change and Food Environment Changes in Madrid, Spain
Neighborhood Social and Economic Change and Diabetes Incidence in Madrid, Spain