Abstract
Business sectors are essential for community prosperity, and thus it is important to investigate the recovery of businesses after disasters. However, current studies on business recovery after natural disasters are limited, particularly a lack of empirical observations in developing countries. Our observations of the patterns and transformations of small businesses in the recovery process after the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in China can bridge this gap and provide a valuable contribution to academia. We conducted research through a four-year longitudinal study to track small business recovery in Beichuan County since 2014. Field observations, repeat photography, and semi-structured interviews were used to collect data. The operating status, business type, and spatiotemporal changes of small businesses in the new business district, Banaqia, were demonstrated. Overall, less than 50% of the planned shops were occupied and in operation, and this figure keeps declining from 2014 to 2017. Catering, garments, and souvenirs are the primary business types, but they show individual patterns in terms of sustainable development and spatial configuration. The results help to inform the development of recovery policies following disasters in developing countries.
Highlights
When a community encounters disasters, the ability of local businesses to survive is an important factor in the recovery process because businesses play a crucial socio-economic role in the community by providing jobs, goods and services, and tax revenue [1]
This paper focused on the Banaqia commercial streets as a study area and performed a four-year longitudinal study researching the post-disaster sustainable development of Banaqia Business Street in New Beichuan City
This study focused on the developmental changes of the operating status of initial surviving businesses in Banaqia Business Street after the Wenchuan Earthquake
Summary
When a community encounters disasters, the ability of local businesses to survive is an important factor in the recovery process because businesses play a crucial socio-economic role in the community by providing jobs, goods and services, and tax revenue [1]. The research contributes to disaster literature and practice in three areas It helps to inform the policy making of post-disaster reconstruction in developing countries such as China. It adds insights into how small businesses are impacted by disasters and recover from the shocks.
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