The Airport as an Attraction: The Airport City and Aerotropolis Concept

Abstract Airports have evolved over time from simple airfield facilities to multifunctional centres of aviation and related activities at both the airport site itself and the surrounding environs. Commercialisation and privatisation of airports have accelerated these developments as well as increased recognition that the global accessibility of air transport provides locational advantages to a variety of business activities that are drawn to the airport area. Land uses around airports have intensified and diversified over time through a series of stages as urban areas have grown outward. Most recently, concepts such as the airport city and the aerotropolis have captured the imaginations of political leaders and economic development officials through their claims that airports are becoming the centres of urban regions, and that future growth will revolve around air transport and airports. Whilst air transport has grown and become a more important form of global connectivity with increased development at and around airports, the aerotropolis model is overstated and has been subject to a range of pointed economic, environmental, and social critiques. Three of the most well-known airport-oriented developments, located near airports serving Seoul, Dubai, and Amsterdam, are profiled in this chapter, noting their successes and shortcomings.