AEROTROPOLIS: THE NEW EMERGING URBAN FORM
AAKRITI
Airports and the evolution of cities: an overview
The initial idea of Aerotropolis was presented in the November 1939 issue of Popular Science
by Nicholas DeSantis. The airport-driven economic development was further taken forward by an air
commerce researcher John D. Kasarda in 2000. According to him airports have influenced urban
development in the 21st century in the same way as seaports in the 18th century, railroads in the 19th
century and highways did in the 20th century. It is not how far, but how fast distant places can connect.
"Cities used to be almost exclusively destinations and airports solely places of departure. Now airports
are becoming destinations and cities places of departure as their residents and workers increasingly
travel to emerging airport cities around the world." John D. Kasarda
Cities in the past have grown around major transport hubs. The development in the 21st century is
paving way for the cities to grow around the airports. This trend of airport centric development is not
only increasing employment, but also giving shape to numerous metropolitan features. This dispersed
airport related development is giving rise to a new urban form called Aerotropolis. These are no
different from traditional cities in abstract sense (central city commercial core and commuter-linked
suburbs), but the difference is just that the city core is the airport. The layout, infrastructure, and
economy are centered on an airport which serves as a multi-modal "airport city" commercial core.
Features of the airport central to an Aerotropolis
Airport is multi-modal commercial core of aerotropolis. It has accommodation, corporate suits, flex
offices, business meetings, support services, retail and airline services. The terminal nexus is comprised
of airline, shopping, dining, leisure and office accommodation. There is mixed use inside the airport
fence. The connectivity in an aerotropolis is through airport expressway links (aerolanes) and airport
express trains (aerotrains). The aerotropolis highway corridors and airport express trains effectively and
efficiently connect the airport to downtown and major regional business and residential
concentrations. Cluster rather than strip development is the key feature of development.
Components and key elements of an aerotropolis:
The services and elements which make aerotropolis efficient and possible are listed below. Each
component has a crucial role to play in the overall functioning.
Smart infrastructure for Logistics and just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing that speed up the deliveries.
These are spatially segregated from white-collar service facilities and airport passenger flows. It would
result in increasing the efficiency and decreasing the ambiguity.
Free trade zones (specific class of special economic zone) with minimal tax impositions so that the goods
may be landed, stored, handled, and re-exported under customs regulation (and generally not subject to
customs duty) for boosting exports.
E-Commerce and Distribution that has a rapid response to customer orders due to the the increasing
focus on "pure-click and brick-and-click channel system". Advancements in technology has benefited all
walks of commerce by increasing efficiency in a very short time span.
Flex Tech for fast and reliable information technology consulting which is a basic source for economic
activities involving assembling, repairing and shipping of things.
Intermodal Freight Hub that reduces cargo handling, improves security, reduces damage and loss, and
allows freight to be transported faster. It is aimed to comprehensively bring airways, railways, roadways
and waterways (if any), together.
Office parks and office corridors on common grounds which are air travel intensive. The location of
business centers is based upon the proximity to the airport based on their frequency of use. They
connect executives and professionals quickly to distant markets more efficiently.
Exhibitions and conference centers: They are also knowledge exchange magnets. Place making
enhanced by thematic architectural features, public art, and iconic structures make developments
interpretable, navigable, and welcoming.
Hotels, entertainment and retail clusters which serve long distance travelers. They are also important
for serving the local needs as well.
Medical and Wellness cluster for provision of healthcare. It is to establish a network for developing and
cementing relationships, sharing best practices
to foster the development of the medical and
wellness businesses. Also it serves the purpose
of medical tourism.
Academic and research cluster for distinguished
group of investigators with common academic
interests, allowing for meaningful ways to foster
interdisciplinary and community collaboration.
The research work and education are supposed
to go hand-in-hand.
Mix use residential areas are the major spots for
serving and housing the aerotropolis population.
It has easy commuting and is designed to human
scale providing local services, urban amenities,
and sense of neighborhood.
What triggered the growth of air travel and the need of aerotropolis
The competitive advantage of any city rests on a well-planned physical and commercial infrastructure.
Earlier the airways had the contribution just in terms of aeronautical share. But with changing time, non-
aeronautical share is increasing. Sometimes it is much greater than the aeronautical share because of
the following reasons:
Higher income of airline passengers
Large volumes of passenger flow
High retail sales
Various schemes and policies aimed at providing faster commute, better connectivity and
increased tourism.
Focus on Public Private Partnership (PPP) and increasing the non-aeronautical share are the elementary
steps towards a greater good. Rapidly growing commercial air travel and the booming economy act as
catalysts in this process. It is a dynamic, forward-looking model that often reflects historic airport area
development before air commerce played such an important economic role. An aerotropolis is supposed
to grow in an intelligent manner, minimizing problems and benefiting its users, businesses, surrounding
communities, and the larger region it serves.
Making the Aerotropolis a reality
As mentioned, earlier major cities largely grew around seaports. Then urban development took place
along rivers that formed the backbones of the industrial revolution in UK and US. Railroads opened up
landlocked interiors of nations. Then, the expansion of suburban roadway systems created a fourth
wave of urban development. Cities are now well into a fifth wave of transit-oriented development,
where large commercial airports have become significant drivers of business location and urban
economic growth. Four of the Fortune 500 and eight of the Fortune 1,000 world headquarters are
located in Las Colinas, Texas, a suburb near Dallas airport. Also, Hong Kong International Airport
sustains Hong Kong Disneyland and Memphis International sustains New Songdo International Business
District, both of which are sizable airport cities built from scratch over the last ten years. Furthermore in
2010, recognizing the reality and potential, efforts were led to develop feasibility assessments for an
Aerotropolis concept around Brown Field Municipal Airport in San Diego County, California. Then in
2011, the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality in South Africa officially announced its intention to
transform the municipality into a functioning Aerotropolis.
What makes "Aerotropolis" different and advantageous!
Aircraft are 21st century's physical internet connecting people and products quickly worldwide. The
Aerotropolises are advantageous for fast growing and globally networked economy. Time-cost
accessibility between nodes is the primary aerotropolis planning metric, not the distance.
"The 20th century was about cities building airports. The 21st century will be about airports building
cities." John D. Kasarda
The concept of aerotropolis combines airport planning, urban planning, and business site planning to
create a new sustainable urban form in a synergistic manner. Sufficient green space between clusters is
not neglected. Airport area buildings, walkways, travel lanes, landscaping, and public space, each carry a
unique identity. Aerotropolises are economically efficient, aesthetically pleasing, socially vibrant, and
environmentally sustainable.
The drawbacks and cons of Aerotropolis
Thought the concept of aerotropolis has defined the new era of urban development, yet some of the
facts which revolve around it, cannot be left behind. The first and foremost drawback of the aerotropolis
is that, since the higher middle class and the high class can afford the air travel, hence such cities would
be symbol of elitism. It's not that that the cities would be made just for them; or, that the other classes
are supposed not to take advantage of the related development. It's just due the fact that, if in an
aerotropolis is designed, the lower classes would automatically become isolated. Hence the very notion
of creating the aerotropolis, to bring together people from around the globe, fails. It fails because it
creates distance between the people already living together. And moreover, what is the significance of a
city, when its majority of elements are utilized by a specific community or group of people. Adding to
the list of drawbacks, there is one more aspect which needs to be taken into consideration before
planning out aerotropolis. As mentioned earlier, making and sustaining cities around airports is a sign of
fifth wave of transit oriented development (after sea ports, rivers, railroads and roads). Hence the
concept is limited to a very few cities all over the world. There are many cities which are still struck on
second or third step. Majority of cities have reached the fourth step though. But it does not necessarily
means that they are ready to enter into the new era of development. No doubt, that this development
will set great benchmarks for the urban development, but there are many more things to be taken into
account before starting off with such projects. For instance, as mentioned earlier, the economic
composition of the people is one such aspect. There are many such arguments as to what should be
done. But without a proper itinerary, a new experiment is bound to do more bad than good.
