Roles of locational factors in the rise and fall of restaurants: A case study of Beijing with POI data

Abstract

Restaurants are basic urban amenities. With the dynamic evolution of cities, restaurants rise and fall: new restaurants may open (birth), and existing restaurants may close (death). Analyzing the rise and fall of restaurants may assist urban dynamics exploration and urban policy assessment. Location is crucial for restaurant success. Roles of locational factors in restaurants' rise and fall were empirically explored in this case study of Beijing based on point of interest (POI) data, a more available and universal data source than conventional statistics used by previous studies. We characterized restaurant birth and death through matching POI data across years, examined their spatial patterns, and regressed restaurant distribution, birth, and death against various locational factors with count regression models. The rise and fall of restaurants revealed the impact of policies relieving Beijing of functions non-essential to its role as China's capital. Regressions suggested four roles of locational factors: 1) Promoting factors, including accessibility, commercial land use, and building capacity; 2) Hindering factors, namely, existing restaurant density; 3) Stabilizing factors, i.e. house price; and 4) Irrelevant factors, including population and residential and institutional land use. Our findings may provide practical advice for restaurant operators and urban policy makers.