Data and code for: Uncovering commercial activity in informal cities

Knowledge of the spatial organisation of economic activity within a city is key to policy concerns. However, in developing cities with high levels of informality, this information is often unavailable. Recent progress in machine learning together with the availability of street imagery offers an affordable and easily automated solution. Here we propose an algorithm that can detect what we call visible firms using street view imagery. Using Medellín, Colombia as a case study, we illustrate how this approach can be used to uncover previously unseen economic activity. This dataset contains the data and code required to replicate our analysis for the manuscript: "Uncovering commercial activity in informal cities."