Spatial Analysis of Subway Accessibility and Business Closures in New York City

Suvan Arachchi

No 854tm_v2, SocArXiv from Center for Open Science

Abstract: Unexpected business closures in urban areas are a major issue, as it hurts jobs, weakens local economies, and can destabilize neighborhoods. This study finds out whether businesses located near subway stations in New York City had different closure rates compared to those farther away. Using Python-based spatial analysis, 496 stations were mapped against 44,913 business licenses, and closure rates were calculated for businesses within a 0.25-mile radius of each station. Results show that closure rates were different across boroughs. The Bronx had 38.9%, Brooklyn had 37.6%, Manhattan had 34.0%, Queens had 33.0%, and Staten Island had 30.6%. Certain stations, like Beach 44 St, had particularly high closure rates, with Beach 44 St having a closure rate of 66.7%. These findings show that there are obvious geographic differences in business outcomes and suggest that transit accessibility interacts with broader urban economic factors. Supplementary code can be found here: https://github.com/Suvan9/-nyc-subway-business-analysis

Date: 2026-03-22
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-tre and nep-uep
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:osf:socarx:854tm_v2

DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/854tm_v2

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