Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Using Zoning as a Public Health Tool to Reduce Oversaturation of Alcohol Outlets: an Examination of the Effects of the New “300 Foot Rule” on Packaged Goods Stores in a Mid-Atlantic City

  • Published:
Prevention Science Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The oversaturation of alcohol outlets can have disastrous public health consequences. The goal of this study was to evaluate the potential impact of new zoning legislation, TransForm Baltimore on locations of alcohol outlets. More specifically, the study sought to determine the effect of the new zoning code on the potential redistribution of alcohol outlets and also provide empirical support for the need to actively monitor redistribution of outlets to avoid further inequitable oversaturation in disadvantaged neighborhoods. Data on off-premise alcohol outlets (e.g., packaged goods stores) were obtained from the Board of Liquor License Commissioners for Baltimore City. The alcohol outlets were geocoded and assigned to zoning parcels. Churches and schools were also geocoded. The alcohol outlets were also assigned to census tracts to calculate socioeconomic statuses. One hundred seventy-two of the 263 off-premise packaged goods stores (PGS) were in violation of the new zoning law. TransForm will reduce the land parcels available to alcohol outlets by 27.2%. Areas containing non-conforming PGS were more likely to have a higher percentage of Black residents, single parent-families, unemployment, household poverty, and vacancy compared to Baltimore City averages and areas without non-conforming PGS. Planning enforcement efforts need to accompany related laws to prevent/reduce overconcentration of PGS in disadvantaged neighborhoods.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ahern, J., Margerison-Zilko, C., Hubbard, A., & Galea, S. (2013). Alcohol outlets and binge drinking in urban neighborhoods: The implications of nonlinearity for intervention and policy. American Journal of Public Health, 103(4), e81–e87.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • American Nutrition Association. (2015). USDA defines food deserts. Nutrition Digest, 38(2).

  • Ashe, M., Jernigan, D., Kline, R., & Galaz, R. (2003). Land use planning and the control of alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and fast food restaurants. American Journal of Public Health, 93(9), 1404–1408.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Bluthenthal, R. N., Cohen, D. A., Farley, T. A., Scribner, R., Beighley, C., Schonlau, M., & Robinson, P. L. (2008). Alcohol availability and neighborhood characteristics in Los Angeles, California and southern Louisiana. Journal of Urban Health, 85(2), 191–205.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, C. A., Hahn, R. A., Elder, R., Brewer, R., Chattopadhyay, S., Fielding, J., et al. (2009). The effectiveness of limiting alcohol outlet density as a means of reducing excessive alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harms. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 37(6), 556–569.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chartier, K., & Caetano, R. (2010). Ethnicity and health disparities in alcohol research. Alcohol Research & Health, 33(1–2), 152.

    Google Scholar 

  • Comptroller of Maryland (2016). Alcohol & tobacco tax annual report: fiscal year 2016.

  • ESRI. (2016). ArcGIS ArcMap 10.4. Redlands, CA.

  • Franklin, F. A., LaVeist, T. A., Webster, D. W., & Pan, W. K. (2010). Alcohol outlets and violent crime in Washington D.C. Western Journal of Emergency Medicine, 11(3), 283–290.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Furr-Holden, C. D., Milam, A. J., Nesoff, E. D., Johnson, R. M., Fakunle, D. O., Jennings, J. M., & Thorpe, R. J. (2016). Not in my back yard: A comparative analysis of crime around publicly funded drug treatment centers, liquor stores, convenience stores, and corner Stores in one mid-Atlantic City. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 77(1), 17–24.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Grover, P. L., and Bozzo, R. (1999). Preventing Problems Related to Alcohol Availability: Environmental Approaches: Reference Guide. US Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Substance Abuse Treatment.

  • Gruenewald, P. J., & Remer, L. (2006). Changes in outlet densities affect violence rates. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 30(7), 1184–1193.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gruenewald, P. J., Madden, P., & Janes, K. (1992). Alcohol availability and the formal power and resources of state alcohol beverage control agencies. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 16(3), 591–597.

  • Gyimah-Brempong, K. (2006). Neighborhood income, alcohol availability, and crime rates. The Review of Black Political Economy, 33(3), 21–44.

  • Healy, M. A., & Gilliland, J. A. (2012). Quantifying the magnitude of environmental exposure misclassification when using imprecise address proxies in public health research. Spatial and spatio-temporal epidemiology, 3(1).

  • Hollander, J. B., Pallagst, K., Schwarz, T., & Popper, F. J. (2009). Planning shrinking cities. Progress in Planning, 72(4), 223–232.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jennings, J. M., Milam, A. J., Greiner, A., Furr-Holden, C. D., Curriero, F. C., & Thornton, R. J. (2013). Neighborhood alcohol outlets and the association with violent crime in one mid-Atlantic City: The implications for zoning policy. Journal of Urban Health, 91(1), 62–71.

    Article  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Kanny, D., Liu, Y., Brewer, R. D., & Lu, H. (2013). Binge drinking—United States, 2011. MMWR Surveillance Summaries, 62(Suppl 3), 77–80.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kypri, K., Bell, M. L., Hay, G. C., & Baxter, J. (2008). Alcohol outlet density and university student drinking: A national study. Addiction, 103(7), 1131–1138.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Larsen, K., & Gilliland, J. (2008). Mapping the evolution of food deserts in a Canadian city: Supermarket accessibility in London, Ontario, 1961–2005. International Journal of Health Geographics, 7(1), 16.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • LaVeist, T. A., & Wallace, J. M. (2000). Health risk and inequitable distribution of liquor stores in African American neighborhood. Social Science & Medicine, 51(4), 613–617.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Livingston, M. (2008). A longitudinal analysis of alcohol outlet density and assault. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 32(6), 1074–1079.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mair, C., Gruenewald, P. J., Ponicki, W. R., & Remer, L. (2013). Varying impacts of alcohol outlet densities on violent assaults: explaining differences across neighborhoods. Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs, 74(1), 50–58.

  • Mayor’s Office of Information Technology. (2017). City of Baltimore’s open data catalog. Retrieved April 25, 2017, from https://data.baltimorecity.gov/.

  • Milam, A. J., Furr-Holden, C. D., Cooley-Strickland, M. C., Bradshaw, C. P., & Leaf, P. J. (2014). Risk for exposure to alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs on the route to and from school: The role of alcohol outlets. Prevention Science, 15(1), 12–21.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Minitab 17 Statistical Software (2010). [Computer Software]. State College, PA: Minitab, Inc.

  • Minnesota Population Center.(2016) National historical geographic information system: Version 11.0 [Database]. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota. Retrieved from: http://www.nhgis.org/. Accessed March 2, 2017.

  • Morrison, C., Smith, K., Gruenewald, P. J., Ponicki, W. R., Lee, J. P., & Cameron, P. (2015). Relating off-premises alcohol outlet density to intentional and unintentional injuries. Addiction,111(1), 56–64.

  • Mosher, J. F., & Treffers, R. D. (2013). State pre-emption, local control, and alcohol retail outlet density regulation. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 44(4), 399–405.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pollack, C. E., Cubbin, C., Ahn, D., & Winkleby, M. (2005). Neighbourhood deprivation and alcohol consumption: Does the availability of alcohol play a role? International Journal of Epidemiology, 34(4), 772–780.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Popova, S., Giesbrecht, N., Bekmuradov, D., & Patra, J. (2009). Hours and days of sale and density of alcohol outlets: impacts on alcohol consumption and damage: a systematic review. Alcohol & Alcoholism, 44(5), 500–516.

  • Ransom, M. M., Greiner, A., Kochtitzky, C., & Major, K. S. (2011). Pursuing health equity: Zoning codes and public health. The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 39(1_suppl), 94–97.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Romley, J. A., Cohen, D., Ringel, J., & Sturm, R. (2007). Alcohol and environmental justice: The density of liquor stores and bars in urban neighborhoods in the United States. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 68(1), 48–55.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sadler, R. C., & Lafreniere, D. J. (2017). Racist housing practices as a precursor to uneven neighborhood change in a post-industrial city. Housing Studies, 32(2), 186–208.

  • Sadler, R. C., Gilliland, J. A., & Arku, G. (2011). An application of the edge effect in measuring accessibility to multiple food retailer types in southwestern Ontario, Canada. In International Journal of Health Geographics.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sakaguchi, E., Kim, T., Striley, C. W., & Cottler, L. B. (2014). Spatial relationship between alcohol outlet density and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in the city of St. Louis, Missouri.

  • Schonlau, M., Scribner, R., Farley, T. A., Theall, K. P., Bluthenthal, R. N., Scott, M., & Cohen, D. A. (2008). Alcohol outlet density and alcohol consumption in Los Angeles county and southern Louisiana. Geospatial Health, 3(1), 91.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Scribner, R. A., Cohen, D. A., & Fisher, W. (2000). Evidence of a structural effect for alcohol outlet density: a multilevel analysis. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 24(2), 188–195.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Theall, K. P., Lancaster, B. P., Lynch, S., Haines, R. T., Scribner, S., Scribner, R., & Kishore, V. (2011). The neighborhood alcohol environment and at-risk drinking among African-Americans. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 35(5), 996–1003.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thornton, R. L. J., Greiner, A., Jennings, J. (2013). Alcohol outlet control policy and public health in Baltimore: Evidence and arguments about creating healthier residential neighborhoods. The Abell Report, 26(2-A).

  • Tienda, M. (1991). Poor people and poor places: Deciphering neighborhood effects on poverty outcomes. In J. Huber (Ed.), Macro-micro linkages in sociology (pp. 244–262). Newbury Park: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • TransForm Baltimore—zoning, council bill 12–0152 (2016).

  • Truong, K. D., & Sturm, R. (2009). Alcohol environments and disparities in exposure associated with adolescent drinking in California. American Journal of Public Health, 99(2), 264–270.

  • U.S. Census Bureau (1995). Population of counties by decennial census: 1900 to 1990. Retrieved from: https://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/md190090.txt. Accessed April 7, 2017.

  • U.S. Census Bureau (2016). QuickFacts: Baltimore City, Maryland. Retrieved from: https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/. Accessed April 7, 2017.

  • WHO. (2011). Addressing the harmful use of alcohol: a guide to developing effective alcohol legislation. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization.

  • World Health Organization (1999). European Alcohol Action Plan 2000-2005. Retrieved from: http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/108258/E67946.pdf?sequence=1. Accessed 05 Jan 2018.

  • World Health Organization, & World Health Organization. Management of Substance Abuse Unit. (2014). Global status report on alcohol and health, 2014. World Health Organization.

  • Yu, Q., Scribner, R., Carlin, B., Theall, K., Simonsen, N., Ghosh-Dastidar, B., et al. (2008). Multilevel spatio-temporal dual changepoint models for relating alcohol outlet destruction and changes in neighbourhood rates of assaultive violence. Geospatial Health, 2(2), 161.

  • Zhang, X., Hatcher, B., Clarkson, L., Holt, J., Bagchi, S., Kanny, D., & Brewer, R. D. (2015). Peer Reviewed: Changes in Density of On-Premises Alcohol Outlets and Impact on Violent Crime, Atlanta, Georgia, 1997–2007. Preventing Chronic Disease, 12, 140317.

Download references

Funding

CDC 5R01CE002682 (PI Furr-Holden, D).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA

    Christopher L Hippensteel, Richard C Sadler, Adam J Milam, Victoria Nelson & C. Debra Furr-Holden

  2. Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, East Lansing, MI, USA

    Adam J Milam

Authors
  1. Christopher L Hippensteel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Richard C Sadler
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Adam J Milam
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Victoria Nelson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. C. Debra Furr-Holden
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Richard C Sadler.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval (Research Involving Human Participants/Animals)

This project did not include human subjects or animals.

Informed Consent

Not applicable.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Hippensteel, C.L., Sadler, R.C., Milam, A.J. et al. Using Zoning as a Public Health Tool to Reduce Oversaturation of Alcohol Outlets: an Examination of the Effects of the New “300 Foot Rule” on Packaged Goods Stores in a Mid-Atlantic City. Prev Sci 20, 833–843 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-018-0947-9

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-018-0947-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation