This project aims to help business improvement districts (BIDs) and small businesses understand nightlife patterns across Philadelphia’s commercial corridors in order to further recovery efforts following the COVID-19 pandemic. While nighttime activity is an important component to Philadelphia’s economy, culture, and identity, there is limited empirical data available to help decision makers govern the nighttime economy. As a result, many of the logistical and policy decisions are largely based on emotional perceptions of the negative externalities of the nighttime economy, such as noise pollution and safety concerns. This project uses the novel SafeGraph dataset to analyze nighttime mobility patterns in Philadelphia and develop a model to predict nighttime trips to commercial corridors.

This project is part of the Spring 2021 Master of Urban Spatial Analytics Practicum course at the University of Pennsylvania taught by Ken Steif, Michael Fichman, and Matthew Harris. We are incredibly thankful for their their time, knowledge, and generosity during this challenging and fully online semester. Additionally, we want to take this opportunity to thank Daniel Lodise & Dave Maynard from Philadelphia City Councilmember Isaiah Thomas’ office for sharing their perspectives on policy decision-making for the nighttime economy. Additionally, we are incredibly grateful to Kae Anderson from the Fishtown Business Improvement District for fantastic insights about how economic development professionals manage corridors and make decisions. We also want to acknowledge Andrew Renninger and Eugene Chong for their invaluable support accessing the SafeGraph dataset that was integral to this project and sharing general knowledge about the dataset. Finally we want to acknowledge the support and feedback from our classmates in the MUSA and city planning programs at the University of Pennsylvania. We thank you for your help!