# An Analysis of Food Accessibility of Mountain Cities in China: A Case Study of Chongqing
## 1 Introduction  
The food environment of a region has a significant impact on the dietary habits and lifestyles of residents and is one of the key determinants of their health and well-being [1]. Residents of areas lacking healthy food are often prone to outbreaks of diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and malnutrition [2]. The availability and accessibility of healthy food has become an issue of global concern [3; 4; 5; 6]. One definition of a \"food desert\" is an area where human residents have limited access to fresh and healthy food or where healthy food is unaffordable for poorer people [7]. Although there are different definitions, food deserts generally have three characteristics [3; 8; 9]: (1) availability of healthy food that is lower than consumption capacity; (2) food that is a long distance from the population; and (3) a close relationship between food accessibility and socioeconomic inequalities. \"Health stores\" are stores that provide fresh vegetables, fruits, and meat and mainly include hypermarkets and fruit and vegetable stores [10]. Based on their characteristics, vegetable farms, markets and seafood markets, and specialty food stores in China can be classified as health food stores. Many previous studies have applied a geographic information system (GIS) within the analysis of the accessibility of health food stores. Consequently, many models have been established for measuring accessibility of health food that consider the complexity oftransportation systems, spatiotemporal variations in drivers, and the dynamics of urban life [11]. Food accessibility assessment has been the most common method for food desert research [3; 8; 10; 12; 13]. Most previous related studies have analyzed regional differences in healthy food accessibility using a simplistic descriptive analysis or have explored the interconnections between food deserts and socioeconomic regions at multiple levels using least squares regression and spatial autocorrelation methods [11]. In fact, there is interaction between socioeconomic activities at different levels. The socioeconomic level of a neighborhood is not only related to the characteristics of the community in which it is located but reflected in the influence of high-level macro conditions, such as at the street or county levels [14]. Therefore, many studies have attempted to avoid the analytical bias associated with these two relationships by using multilevel linear regression (hierarchical linear additive model) to explore the relationships between different levels of social indicators and food accessibility [14; 15]. Of course, these studies were based on detailed economic data. The development of the economy and the unique terrain of Chongqing are also important considerations for analyzing food accessibility. The early development of Chongqing involved the introduction of numerous industries. This development of Chongqing played an important role in the larger-scale development of China to set the foundation for a comprehensive national industrial base dominated by heavy industry, involving the machinery, chemical, metallurgical, food, and textile industries [16]. The duality of the overall development of Chongqing is reflected in: (1) the large proportion of traditional agriculture and its lagging development; (2) the large gap between income and consumption levels; (3) the large gap in labor productivity between industry and agriculture; and (4) numerous migrant workers in the city. The development of industrial structure follows an evolutionary path from agriculture to light industry, to heavy industry, and finally to high-tech industry [17]. The economic base of the region remains weak and in an initial industrialization process, with the establishment of a large machine industry. On the one hand, traditional agriculture and handicraft industries exist in the region along with some heavy industry and advanced technology industries. On the other hand, processing industries remain limited, and light industries are still in an intermediate evolutionary stage.