Recent trends in airport-centered real estate development are addressed, with emphasis on the concept of the airport city. Airport cities are major economic hubs that have exhibited substantial growth and profits. However, evolution toward an airport city is difficult; several airports worldwide have failed in the attempt. The emergence of this type of development is related to major trends in the aviation sector during the past decades. Globalization and liberalization processes have led to a strong reliance of airport operators on nonaeronautical revenues. Real estate development centered on airports arises as a strategy to maximize nonaeronautical revenues and as a response to a need for revenue diversification. The purpose of this research was to identify the critical, underlying factors in the emergence of an airport city. A framework was designed to illustrate the agents that shape airport city development and the relationships between them. A key informant survey was then conducted with 30 respondents and complemented with personal interviews of eight of them. The results suggest the existence of four critical factors for the development of an airport city: the connectivity of the airport and its surroundings, the economic potential of the surrounding area, a sustainable development context, and a commercial attitude by the airport operator.
References
1.
ButtonK.The Impact of US-EU “Open Skies” Agreement on Airline Market Structures and Airline Networks. Journal of Air Transport Management, Vol. 15, No. 2, 2009, pp. 59–71.
2.
KawagoeM.Air Transport Deregulation in the EU: Study from the Europeanization Perspective. Presented at International Political Science Association Research Committee 3 Symposium on European Integration between the Past and the Present, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan, Sept. 6, 2008.
ForsythP.The Gains from the Liberalization of Air Transport: A Review of Reform. Journal of Transport Economics and Policy, Vol. 32, No. 1, 1998, pp. 73–92.
5.
PenedaM.Critical Factors for the Development of Airport Cities. MS thesis. Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisbon, Portugal, 2010.
6.
FreestoneR.Planning, Sustainability and Airport-Led Urban Development. International Planning Studies, Vol. 14, No. 2, 2009, pp. 161–176.
7.
HazelB., FainsilberO., HermannN., and SalaS.Airport Management for a World of Lower Demand and Greater Risk.Aviation, Aerospace, and Defense Brief. Oliver Wyman, 2008.
8.
StevensN., and WalkerA.Land Use at Privatized Australian Airports: Classification and Analyses. Aerlines Magazine, Vol. 44, 2008.
9.
SongW., and MaY.Hub-and-Spoke System in Air Transportation and Its Implications to Regional Economic Development: A Case Study of United States. Chinese Geographical Science, Vol. 16, No. 3, 2006, pp. 211–216.
10.
FreathyP.The Commercialization of European Airports: Successful Strategies in a Decade of Turbulence?Journal of Air Transport Management, Vol. 10, No. 3, 2004, pp. 191–197.
11.
GoetzA., and GrahamB.Air Transport Globalization, Liberalization and Sustainability: Post-2001 Policy Dynamics in the United States and Europe. Journal of Transport Geography, Vol. 12, No. 4, 2004, pp. 265–276.
12.
GüllerM., and GüllerM.From Airport to Airport City.Editorial Gustavo Gili, Barcelona, Spain, 2003.
13.
GrahamA.Managing Airports: An International Perspective.Elsevier, Oxford, England, 2001.
14.
JarachD.The Evolution of Airport Management Practices: Towards a Multi-Point, Multi-Service, Marketing-Driven Firm, Vol. 7, No. 2, 2001, pp. 119–125.
15.
FreathyP., and O'ConnellF.Market Segmentation in the European Airport Sector. Marketing Intelligence and Planning, Vol. 18, No. 3, 2000, pp. 102–111.
16.
IrwinM., and KasardaJ.Air Passenger Linkages and Employment Growth in U.S. Metropolitan Areas. American Sociological Review, Vol. 56, No. 4, 1991, pp. 524–537.
17.
ButtonK.Low Cost Airlines: A Failed Business Model? Draft paper. School of Public Policy, George Mason University, Fairfax, Va., 2009.
18.
BurghouwtG., and HuysM.Deregulation and the Consequences for Airport Planning in Europe. The Planning Review, Vol. DisP 154, 2003, pp. 37–44.
19.
KasardaJ.Airport Cities: The Evolution—The Transformation of Airports into World-Class Airport Cities.Insight Media, London, 2008.
20.
SchaafsmaM., AmkreutzJ., and GüllerM.Airport and City: Airport Corridors—Drivers of Economic Development.Schiphol Real Estate, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 2008.
21.
EylerA. A., MayerJ., RafiiR., HousemannP., BrownsonR. C., and KingA. C.Key Informant Surveys as a Tool to Implement and Evaluate Physical Activity Interventions in the Community. Health Education Research, Vol. 14, No. 2, 1999, pp. 289–298.
22.
GrahamA.How Important Are Commercial Revenues to Today's Airports?Journal of Air Transport Management, Vol. 15, No. 3, 2008, pp. 106–111.
23.
AlbersS., KochB., and RuffC.Strategic Alliances Between Airlines and Airports: Theoretical Assessment and Practical Evidence. Journal of Air Transport Management, Vol. 11, No. 2, 2005, pp. 49–58.
24.
FrancisG., FidatoA., and HumphreysI.Airport-Airline Interactions: The Impact of Low-Cost Carriers on Two European Airports. Journal of Air Transport Management, Vol. 9, No. 4, 2003, pp. 267–273.
25.
PittM., and BrownA.Developing a Strategic Direction for Airports to Enable the Provision of Services to Both Network and Low-Fare Carriers. Facilities, Vol. 19, No. 1, 2001, pp. 52–60.
26.
ZassS.Spatial Impact of Airports in Germany: Strategies Towards a Sustainable Planning in Airport Regions. In European Transport Conference 2007, PTRC Education and Research Services, Ltd., London, 2007, pp. 6–8.
27.
ACRP Report 27: Enhancing Airport Land Use Compatibility.Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, Washington, D.C., 2010.
28.
KreutelF.Frankfurt Airport City Development (PowerPoint presentation). Fraport AG, Germany, 2007.
29.
YigitcanlarT., Martinez-FernandezC., SearleG., BakerD., and VelibeyogluK.Understanding the Conditions for the Emergence of Airport Knowledge Precincts: A Framework for Research. In Proceedings REAL CORP 008 (SchrenkM., PopovichV., EngelkeD., and EliseiP., eds.), Eigenverlag des Vereins CORP, Vienna, 2008, pp. 465–475.
30.
KasardaJ.An Industrial/Aviation Complex for the Future. Urban Land, 1991, pp. 16–20.
31.
KasardaJ., and GreenJ.Air Cargo as an Economic Development Engine: A Note on Opportunities and Constraints. Journal of Air Transport Management, Vol. 11, No. 6, 2005, pp. 459–462.
32.
KasardaJ.From Airport City to Aerotropolis. Airport World, Vol. 6, 2001, pp. 42–47.
33.
KasardaJ.Logistics and the Rise of Aerotropolis. Real Estate Issues, Vol. 25, No. 4, 2000, p. 43.
34.
Schaafsma, M. Airport & City. Presented at the Colloquium on the Interaction Between Airport and City, University of Utrecht, Netherlands, Nov. 17, 2005.
35.
Van der BlonkC., HoutsmaW. H., JenniskensM., TerwecorenJ., and VerbeetM.Airports Reviewed.University of Utrecht, Netherlands, March 2006.
36.
PoungiasP.Airport City Developments: An Airport Investor's Perspective. Airport Management, Vol. 4, No. 1, 2009, pp. 14–22.
37.
KeastR., BakerD., and BrownK.Balancing Infrastructure for the Airport Metropolis. In International Conference on Infrastructure Systems: Building Networks for a Brighter Future, Next Generations Infrastructures Foundation and IEEE Systems, Man & Cybernetics Society, Rotterdam, Netherlands, Nov. 2008.
38.
VerhetselA., and WitloxF.Airport Expansion Versus Relocation. In Optimising Strategies in the Air Transport Business—Survival of the Fittest? (MeersmanH., RoosensP., van de VoordeE., and WitloxF., eds.), Garant, Antwerp, Belgium, 2004.
39.
RietveldP., and BruinsmaF.Is Transport Infrastructure Effective?Springer Verlag, Berlin, 1998.
40.
AppoldS., and KasardaJ.Strategically Managing Airport Cities. In Global Airport Cities (KasardaJ., ed.), Insight Media, London, 2010.
