ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT QUARTERLY
THE
REVITALISATION
OF BOURBON
STREET
BY AMANDA GOODDY
A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:
I’d like to thank Economic Development Australia
for the opportunity to participate in the Overseas
Study Tour. The tour has provided me with
international exposure to the challenges impacting
bricks and mortar businesses during construction
projects. Together with this research, and what
I’ve implemented on the Sunshine Coast, I’ve
developed a framework to support business
continuity during construction.
THE BEGINNING
A few years ago, I began a journey to look at how
business advisors and economic development
officers can provide better support to business
owners in the lead up to construction projects. This
lead to investigating methods and best practices
around Australia and the world.
After investigating what support was available to
businesses globally, I produced Australia’s first
Business Continuity – A guide to doing business
during construction and road upgrades guide. The
guide aims to better prepare business owners in the
lead up a construction project.
Following the roll out of the guide in the Sunshine
Coast during one of our major projects, and
associated activities, we identified additional
opportunities to support businesses. I wanted to
develop a framework that provided best practices
in three areas, business engagement, business
support and activation during construction. A
framework that could be applied to projects of
all sizes across Australia. With the support from
Economic Development Australia Overseas
Study Tour, I was able to travel to New Orleans to
examine a region that has undergone a decade of
construction and rebuilding projects, following the
damage that occurred during Hurricane Katrina.
WHY IS THIS SO IMPORTANT?
Construction, road works and infrastructure
upgrades are happening in all regions across
Australia. In many cases, they can have a
disruptive output on small business. Small
businesses are the backbone of our communities
and provide a variety of functions that are important
to our growing regions.
Bourbon Street, French
Quarter, New Orleans
VOL.11 NO.2 2018 | 22