semvec/pypi-packages huggingface dataset:
la-businesses 0.1.1
Save the latest database of businesses in Los Angeles as CSV and KML.
License: MIT
Requires Python: >=3.7,<4.0

# la-businesses

## Description
This script downloads and processes the listing of all active businesses 
currently registered with the City of Los Angeles Office of Finance. 
An 'active' business is defined as a registered business whose owner has not 
notified the Office of Finance of a cease of business operations. 
Update Interval: Monthly.

Data source: https://data.lacity.org/A-Prosperous-City/Listing-of-Active-Businesses/6rrh-rzua

This script fetches the data and saves it locally as a CSV file. It also selects
a subset of businesses with operation starting date within the last NDAYS days
(default 30) and saves this as a separate CSV file. Finally, it creates and 
saves a KML file from the subset, useful for importing into Google Maps or
similar software to visualize the distribution of recent businesses opened in
the Los Angeles area. 


## Installation
Install with pip. The package installs as a command-line script. 
```
pip install la-businesses
```

## Usage
Run from the command line (it installs as as script). All downloaded and 
generated files will be stored in a directory `files` inside the current 
working directory.
```
usage: la-businesses [-h] [-u] [-d NDAYS]

optional arguments:
  -h, --help              show this help message and exit
  -u, --update            update data (default: False)
  -d NDAYS, --days NDAYS  started since NDAYS days ago (default: 30)
```
  
## Known issues
#### Locations with missing coordinates are omitted from KML file
The script relies on coordinate data already provided in the downloaded dataset. 
Some businesses contain addresses but no coordinates; in these cases, the 
business is ignored when creating the KML (but is included in any saved CSV 
file). Future implementations should include a function to look up location
coordinates from a given address (e.g., using the Open Street Maps API). 

#### Locations with no DBA name simply show NaN in the KML file
The script could use better handling of business name / DBA combinations to 
omit NaN from KML when it does not have a business name. 

#### No phone numbers
The data does not include any phone or email contact information; merging this
dataset with one that includes contact information would be more useful for 
market research.