Business Inventory Pilot
Tracking the use of retail storefronts across Boston
We created tools and processes to gather timely and accurate data on local businesses and vacancies to support multiple city departments. This gives departments data that can inform their programming, and help fill retail vacancies faster.
Names of Contributors: Adrienne Luczkow, Jeff Kaplan
Verticals Involved: Data Analytics
Departments Involved: Economic Opportunity and Inclusion, Planning
Year(s): 2025 - present
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Still have questions? Contact:
Analytics Team
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1 City Hall Square, Room 703
Boston, MA 02201
Innovation and Technology
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1 City Hall Square
Room 703Boston, MA 02201-2021
Why We Did This
Inspired by the City of Montreal’s annual census of commercial storefronts, we wanted our partners at the Office of Economic Opportunity and Inclusion and others around City Hall to have better data to power their work supporting local businesses.
Commercially available data sources on this topic are useful pulling aggregate numbers, but can be expensive and not offer the degree of granularity desired by people using this information.
Our goal was to create tools and data that allow the City to collect data on businesses that can be tailored to our specific needs, and eventually become a public resource for research.
What We Did
The Analytics team ran a Summer pilot to collect as much data as possible on the City’s storefronts with 3 high school fellows and 2 Analytics team members.
We built a survey tool to allow for field data collection, and worked with stakeholders to develop a framework for data collection that would meet their needs.
In one summer, we were able to catalog every storefront in downtown Boston, as well as comprehensive data on 3 major commercial corridors in Mattapan, Jamaica Plain, and Allston.
Results and Next Steps
After collecting this data, we created an enhanced data collection tool to capture data against businesses over time. This will allow OEOI and other agencies to continue using these tools to track vacancy rates, help prospective business owners find open storefronts, and analyze the effects of policy changes on business districts.
A copy of the data collected Summer 2025 can be found on Analyze Boston.
Who's Involved
Who's Involved-
Still have questions? Contact:
Analytics Team
-
1 City Hall Square, Room 703
Boston, MA 02201
Innovation and Technology
-
1 City Hall Square
Room 703Boston, MA 02201-2021
