Methodological Benchmark: 'Philadelphia After Dark' (ESI & City of Philadelphia, June 2025)

Why This Study Is the CVL Platform's Primary Methodological Benchmark

Published on June 6, 2025 by the City of Philadelphia Department of Commerce and Econsult Solutions, Inc. (ESI) in collaboration with Prof. Michael Fichman (University of Pennsylvania Weitzman School of Design), Philadelphia After Dark: Key Drivers and Trends in the Nighttime Economy is the most rigorous recent municipal nighttime economy impact study in the United States.

The CVL Nighttime Economy Platform uses Philadelphia After Dark Appendix Figure A.1 (docs/reference/esi_philadelphia_2025_naics_coefficients.csv) as its Phase 1 & Phase 2 engine replication benchmark (docs/reference/replication_philadelphia_2022.md).

The Three-Method Coefficient Architecture (Methods A, B, and C)

ESI defined the nighttime economy as economic activity occurring between 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. across 50 NAICS industries grouped into five sectors:

1. Arts & Culture (5 NAICS rows: Performing Arts 7111 [0.74], Promoters 7113 [0.15], Art Dealers 459920 [0.06], Movie Theaters 512131 [0.70], Independent Artists 711510 [0.39])
2. Essential Services (16 NAICS rows: Hospitals 622110 [0.19], Urban Transit 4851 [0.32], Police 922120 [0.31], Fire 922160 [0.31], Ambulance 621910 [0.42], Taxi/Rideshare 485310 [0.26], Supermarkets 44511 [0.23], Convenience Stores 445131 [0.33], Electric Power 2211 [0.23], Waste Collection 5621 [0.20])
3. Food, Beverage & Hospitality (9 NAICS rows: Drinking Places 722410 [0.79], Full-Service Restaurants 722511 [0.70], Limited-Service Restaurants 722513 [0.36], Buffets 722514 [0.33], Caterers 722320 [0.25], Mobile Food 722330 [0.25], Snack Bars 722515 [0.23], Food Contractors 722310 [0.17], Hotels 721110 [0.16])
4. Night Shift Industries (15 NAICS rows: General/Specialized Freight Trucking 4841/4842 [0.35], Transportation & Warehousing 48-49 [0.32], Security Services 5616 [0.25], Janitorial 561720 [0.20], Manufacturing 31-33 [0.12], Colleges & Universities 611310 [0.10], Construction 23 [0.05], Commercial Banking 522110 [0.04], R&D 54171 [0.03])
5. Sports & Recreation (5 NAICS rows: Spectator Sports 7112 [0.81], Fitness Centers 713940 [0.43], Amusement Parks 7131 [0.27], Gambling 7132 [0.27], Bowling Centers 713950 [0.19])

To estimate each industry's nighttime share (0.03 to 0.81), ESI combined:

• Method A (Employee Survey Method): IPUMS American Time Use Survey (ATUS) work-diary schedules and ACS PUMS worker arrival-time microdata (JWTRNS / JWAP).
• Method B (Sampling Method): Posted operating hours and event start times for venues, galleries, theaters, and retail stores.
• Method C (Industry Data Method): Sector-specific administrative and industry reports.

How CVL Replicates & Extends the ESI Engine

As documented in docs/reference/replication_philadelphia_2022.md:

• In Food, Beverage & Hospitality (a private wage-and-salary sector without single-employer QCEW suppression), multiplying public BLS QCEW 2022 employment by ESI's coefficients yields 25,172 nighttime jobs vs. ESI's published 25,700 jobs (within 2.1%).
• Where public QCEW alone falls short of ESI's IMPLAN base is in two specific areas that CVL explicitly solves in etl/nte_etl/sizing/:
• Nonemployer / Self-Employed Workers (Census NES): Independent artists (711510), promoters (7113), and rideshare drivers (485310), which CVL adds in a separate worker_type = 'nonemployer' row so W-2 and 1099 jobs are never conflated.
• Single-Employer Government QCEW Suppression (SEPTA 4851, Police 922120, Fire 922160): Imputed in CVL via CBP + ACS PUMS public-administration/transit microdata when QCEW suppresses a cell.