Vol. 149, No. 1 · Research article ‘Real’ versus ‘mental’ food deserts from the consumer perspective – DIE ERDE concepts and quantitative methods Journal of the Geographical Society applied to rural areas of Germany of Berlin Ulrich Jürgens Department of Geography, University of Kiel, Ludewig-Meyn-Str. 14, 24118 Kiel, Germany, [email protected] Manuscript submitted: 1 April 2017 / Accepted for publication: 25 June 2017 / Published online: 30 March 2018 Abstract Developments in food retail in Germany have for decades tended to lead to ever larger retail units, the filling of these units with ever broader and deeper product ranges, and an increasingly oligopolistic market dominated by chain stores. However, as the large chain stores only choose the ‘best possible’ sites according to popula- tion density, absolute purchasing power and transport networks, there has been a dramatic thinning out of food-retail facilities in large, particularly rural areas. Has this made it possible to detect supply gaps or, more polemically expressed, food deserts? The term ‘food deserts’, in particular, has achieved a certain amount of acclaim in the Anglo-American context since the 2000s. However, the concept has neither been transferred to nor empirically verified for the German context. In this paper quantitative and qualitative methods are applied to investigate the situation in the rural regions of the most northerly state of Germany (Schleswig-Holstein), in order that food deserts no longer be understood only as ‘real’, tangible and bounded patterns arising from the thinning out of infrastructure but rather as cognitive, perceived patterns (mental food deserts). It is suggested that customer (groups) have long-term and varied shopping predispositions so that diverse groups no longer perceive the loss of supply options and actually create local supply gaps for others through their shopping behaviour. Cluster, discriminant and network analyses are used to complement an inventory of tangible retail facilities with ‘lived’ mental attitudes and shopping behaviour, distinctly broadening the present understand- ing of food deserts. Zusammenfassung Die Entwicklungen im deutschen Lebensmitteleinzelhandel hin zu tendenziell immer noch größer werdenden Ladeneinheiten, die Ausfüllung dieser Einheiten mit immer breiteren und tieferen Sortimenten und die fort- schreitende Oligopolisierung unter den Filialketten schreiten seit Jahrzehnten voran. Weil sich aber die Großket- ten nur die „bestmöglichen“ Standorte nach Bevölkerungsdichte, absoluter Kaufkraft und verkehrlicher Logistik Vorsichern, allem dünnen der Begriff großflächige, der food vor deserts allem hat ländliche seit den Territorien 2000er Jahren in ihrer für Lebensmittelversorgung den angloamerikanischen dramatisch Kontext eineaus. Lassen sich hierdurch Versorgungslücken oder, semantisch verschärft, gar Versorgungswüsten konstatieren?- - gewisse Berühmtheit erlangt. Ein Transfer von Konzeption und empirischem Nachweisfood deserts auf dienicht deutsche mehr nur Situa als tion steht noch aus. Anhand quantitativer und qualitativer Methoden, die auf ländliche Regionen im nördlichs ten Bundesland Deutschlands, Schleswig-Holstein, Anwendung finden, sollen Ulrich Jürgens - 149 (1): 25-43 2018: ‘Real’ versus ‘mental’ food deserts from the consumer perspective – concepts and quantitative meth ods applied to rural areas of Germany. – DIE ERDE DOI: 10.12854/erde-149-56 DIE ERDE · Vol. 149 · 1/2018 25 ‘Real’ versus ‘mental’ food deserts from the consumer perspective – concepts and quantitative methods applied to rural areas of Germany „reale“ und abgrenzbare Muster infrastruktureller Ausdünnung, sondern als kognitive, wahrgenommene Aus- dünnungsmuster verstanden werden (mentale food deserts). Unterstellt wird, dass Kunden(gruppen) in ihrem Einkaufsverhalten langfristig und unterschiedlich prädisponiert sind, sodass diverse Gruppen den Verlust an AusstattungsinventareVersorgungsangeboten mitnicht „gelebten“ mehr wahrnehmen mentalen Einstellungen und durch ihr und Einkaufsverhalten Einkaufsverhalten Nahversorgungslücken zu spiegeln und das bisfür- andere erst schaffen. Hierfürfood deserts werden deutlich Cluster-, zu erweiternDiskriminanz-. und Netzwerkanalysen durchgeführt, um reale herige Verständnis von Keywords food deserts, local shopping, food retail, cognition, network, rural areas, Germany 1. Introduction compatible. Is the focus on areas where there are no diversity of providers is limited to one well-known interdisciplinary, involving subjects such as a) busi- more shops due to closures? Or on regions where the nessThe academicadministration, field of concerned retail research with marketingis particularly and - ofsupermarket? people have veryOr is differentthe range subjective of products perceptions within one of retail system too limited or ‘unhealthy’? Or do groups the internal processes of firms; b) politics and plan ecotrophology,ning, which influence which focusthe expansion on the composition and locational and the thinning out of retail facilities? healthinessdecisions of ofbusinesses; food products c) food and science, through medicine their speand- following paper. First, the state of research is re- cialist knowledge positively or negatively impact the viewed,These deliberations tracing the differentdetermine perspectives the structure taken of theon duct marketing and market research, concerned with market research is presented, widening the present sales results of individual shops; d) psychology, pro- food deserts. A concept from the field of psychological research, which takes a spatial perspective on vary- description of the methodology and implementation ingcustomer scales (fromtypes theand micro attitudes; to the e) macro geographical level) and retail thus ofunderstanding an empirical ofsurvey food undertakendeserts. This by is the followed author byand a focuses not on individual shops or products but on identifying spatial-temporal patterns of retail owner- - ship and analysing their consequences, considering sionthe deconstruction and discussion ofof ‘real’future food developments deserts (via focus GIS) onto the diverse actors involved. In comparison with other mental food deserts and cognitive maps. The conclu disciplines, geographical retail research is particu- larly distinguished by its systematic consideration of possible applications of ‘mental’ food deserts. mutually determining groups of actors in their inter- 2. State of research acting (spatial) networks, subjecting them to diverse methodological approaches such as GIS, statistical - considerable diversity in current research on food ofStrand so-called 1 – The healthy health and discourse: nonetheless Food affordabledeserts are food pri supplies,investigation convenience and network shopping analysis. and theThere thinning is clearly out formarily residents identified in the where catchment there is area no sufficient of a shop, supply usu- of retail facilities that results from processes of con- - centration on the supply side and the focus on private metres (Leete - characterisedally normatively by defineda varied in supply terms of of fruit minutes and orvegeta kilo- tive taken by geographical retail research competes bles (Farley et al. 2012: 207). Healthy food is, e.g., withcars andthe mobilityperspectives on the of customer many other side. disciplines The perspec for whether potential customers can also afford, know dominance of the discourse about the most appro- about or prepareet al. such2009), supplies although (Pettygrove it remains and unclear Ghose priate assessment criteria and approaches to local Wright food retail, of relevance both now and in the future. US-American context, the methodology of the Chicago It follows that over the last two decades the concepts, School2016: 271; of Sociology et al. has been2016: used 176). to Especially analyse big in data the - lation structures (ethnicity, social status, automo- desertsdefinitions, have operationalisation, been diverse and appliednot always methods mutually and bility,from censuses,age, etc.), findingand (disadvantageous) correlations between food supplypopu empirical findings concerned with so-called food 26 DIE ERDE · Vol. 149 · 1/2018 ‘Real’ versus ‘mental’ food deserts from the consumer perspective – concepts and quantitative methods applied to rural areas of Germany (Thibodeaux 2016). Such correlations may then be produces spatial models, potential studies (potential manifested in striking patterns of disease such as Eckert and Shetty 2011: 1222) and catchment obesity and diabetes (Morland Moore and Roux 2006). Food deserts have been declared dysto- beaccess; scrutinised and elaborated using empirical data from pian spaces (especially in urban et al. areas 2006; and inner cit- area scenarios for individual groups; these then need to- ies) in which people are not starving but are rather outside the GIS-cosmos; 3. The GIS literature itself iden- cesstifies of types potential of accessibility customers that to a canshop. no Subjective longer be simplyspaces leading ‘unhealthy’ and, at worst, through personal equated with the (quantitative ‘objective’) physical ac negligence, ‘undisciplined’ lives. spaces as mental availability (Goodman and Remaud analyses: Spatial representations of food deserts cre- 2015:of perception 118) and and push information these GIS overlaprepresentations these ‘objective’ of food atedStrand using 2 – computerised GIS (Geographical systems Information and based Systems)on retail deserts to their limits. occupancy