Exploring the Impact of Urban Amenities on Business Circle Vitality Using Multi-Source Big Data

Urban business circles are important locations for economic and social activities. Improving the vitality of urban business circles is conducive to stimulating the potential of the consumer market and promoting sustainable economic development. However, targeted research on the factors influencing business circle vitality is lacking. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to quantitatively examine the impact of the number and diversity of urban amenities on business circle vitality at the street block level using open-source geospatial big data from 32 Chinese metropolises. We found that the number of residential, transportation, educational, cultural, and recreational amenities and the diversity of catering and retail amenities had significant positive impacts on business circle vitality. Catering and retail diversity were the two most critical factors, followed by the number of transportation, cultural, and recreational amenities. However, the effect of urban amenities on business circle vitality varied considerably across different cities and business districts. The results of this study contribute to a holistic understanding of how to improve the vitality of business circles by optimizing urban amenities at the street block level.