The socio-spatial distribution of leisure venues: A case study of karaoke bars in Nanjing, China

Abstract

With the development of service industry and cultural industry, urban leisure and entertainment services have become an important symbol of the city and the driving force of economic and social development. Karaoke, a typical form of urban entertainment, is immensely popular throughout China, and the number of karaoke bars is expected to keep growing in the future. However, little is known about their spatial distribution in the urban space and their association with other location-specific factors. Based on the geospatial entity data and business statistics data, we demonstrate a clustered pattern of 530 karaoke bars in Nanjing by means of point pattern analysis and cluster analysis in GIS. Furthermore, we identify the distribution of population, transportation network, and commercial centers as the three determinants underlying the formation of the pattern.