Retail & Demographic Intelligence — Italy
A geospatial intelligence platform for Italy integrating ISTAT statistical data, OpenStreetMap networks, and drive-time isochrone analysis to assess retail chain coverage and demographic reach.
Interactive map — scroll and click to explore.
Context
Retail location decisions in Italy require understanding drive-time accessibility, population demographics by municipality, and competitor presence. Open data from ISTAT provides rich statistical context that, when combined with spatial analysis, enables data-driven site selection.
Problem Statement
What is the demographic reach of retail chain locations across Italian municipalities? Where are coverage gaps, and how do drive-time isochrones intersect with population and demographic distributions from ISTAT?
Methodology
Retail chain extraction using Google Places API across a grid-based spatial search covering Italy. Isochrone generation for drive-time zones. Weighted demographic calculations using ISTAT SDMX API data. R-tree spatial indexing for performance optimization.
Analysis
Python pipeline (GeoPandas, Shapely, Pyproj, Rtree, Requests). ISTAT data retrieval via SDMX API across 75+ statistical datasets. Interactive web applications (Map_V3.html, Map_V4_Google.html) for multi-level demographic exploration from region to municipality.
Insights
Drive-time catchment areas reveal significant demographic variation even within short distances in mountainous regions. Northern Italian municipalities show higher retail density; southern regions have larger underserved catchment zones per capita.
Outcome
Full geospatial intelligence pipeline with retail chain database, isochrone-population overlay tools, ISTAT data explorer web app, and batch processing utilities. Documented in Chains_Italy.ipynb with methodology report.