Urban Food Landscape Shifts: Small Shops Disappearing Rapidly
Hangzhou, woensdag, 2 juli 2025.
A groundbreaking study from Hangzhou reveals a disturbing trend in urban food retail: small grocery stores are vanishing at an unprecedented pace. Researchers analysed 4,328 neighbourhoods and discovered that healthy food outlets are significantly more impacted by closures than unhealthy alternatives, such as fast-food restaurants. Using advanced machine learning techniques, scientists are mapping the spatial factors driving this transformation. The findings suggest a fundamental shift in urban food distribution, with potentially far-reaching consequences for food access and urban sustainability.
Research Methodology and Analysis
The scientific study, conducted in Hangzhou, used advanced machine learning techniques, specifically Shapley additive explanations (SHAP), to analyse the complex dynamics of food outlets [1]. The research encompassed an extensive dataset of 4,328 urban neighbourhoods, with researchers precisely mapping the closure of different types of food shops [1].
Notable Findings
The analysis revealed a remarkable difference in closure percentages between healthy and unhealthy food outlets. Healthy food outlets were significantly more severely impacted by closures, while fast-food restaurants showed the lowest closure rate [1]. This trend is not limited to Hangzhou but was also observed in cities such as Beijing, Hong Kong, New York, Detroit, Seattle, Chicago, Seoul, and Tallahassee [1].
Research Background
The research was made possible by funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, with specific grants 42171203 and 41771167 [1]. Additionally, it was supported by the Good Food Fund Hangzhou Food Environment Research Project, with special thanks to researchers Huiyu Ouyang and Zhaomin Tong [1].
Broader Implications
The study highlights the critical role of spatial factors in neighbourhood shop closures, a trend that became particularly visible after the COVID-19 pandemic [1]. The researchers emphasise that existing studies often overlooked the differentiation between ‘healthy’ and ‘unhealthy’ food outlets [1].