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Location, Location, Location and Physics |
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Editor's Blog -
General
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Written by xScience.Info
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Thursday, 28 September 2006 |
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 Map of Lyon showing the location of all the retail stores, shoe stores, furniture dealers, and drugstores. Pic: Phys. Rev. E 74, 035101(R) (2006)
Pablo Jensen of the Ecole Normal Superiure in France studied the
locations of businesses in Lyon to determine which stores seem to
attract each other and which stores repel each other (much as atoms can
attract or repel each other in various materials). The analysis leads
to a quality index Q that automatically reveals promising store
locations throughout the city. Q might be high for a jewelery store in
a particular location if there are other accessory stores nearby
selling shoes or hats, but few neighboring grocery or hardware stores.
Jensen confirmed his model by looking at business data for Lyon in
2003 and 2005. He found that bakeries, for example, that were located
in low quality locations in 2003 tended to fail by 2005. Meanwhile, new
bakeries popped up preferentially at locations where their Q index is
high.
Jensen is currently working with the Lyon Chamber of Commerce to use
his model's predictions of Q to help aspiring business owners find
promising locations, as well as advising city officials on ways to
improve Lyon's commercial opportunities.
Source: EurekAlert!
Related Links:
Pablo Jensen,
Physical Review E, September 2006
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