Infrastructure development is a key factor behind the growth of an economy. Development of roads and highways are always linked with logistics or to propel tourism and travel growth. Similarly, a new airport always develops the vicinity. Airports are becoming new dynamic centers of economic activity. They have incorporated commercial services and businesses, both inside passenger terminals and on their landside areas.

Whenever an airport comes up, it has been found that there is a considerable boost to the city area. So much so that today, cities are being developed around airports and are being termed as aerotropolises.

What is an aerotropolis?

An aerotropolis is an urban plan in which the layout, infrastructure and economy is centered on an airport, existing as an airport city. It is similar in form and function to a traditional metropolis, which contains a central city core and its commuter-linked suburbs.

Such cities are powerful engines of local economic development, attracting aviation-linked businesses of all types to their environs. These include, among others, time-sensitive manufacturing and distribution facilities; hotel, entertainment, retail, convention, trade and exhibition complexes; and office buildings that house air-travel intensive executives and professionals.

Globally, we find significant airport edge-cities representing planned postmodern urban mega-development in the age of the Aerotropolis. Some of the largest aerotropolis clusters are found in Amsterdam, Chicago, Hong Kong and Paris. Each of these has attracted a remarkable amount of business investment generating huge economic returns to their regions and nations.

More than a thousand firms are located in the Amsterdam aerotropolis, including the world headquarters of ABN Amro Bank and ING Bank, due to the superb connectivity provided by the Schiphol’s terminal. Likewise, four Fortune 500 world headquarters are located in Las Colinas in Texas, less than a ten minute drive from Dallas/Fort worth International Airport. Chicago’s O’Hare airport area has more office and convention space than most major cities. The Washington Dulles airport region is the second largest retail market in the US (just behind New York City’s Manhattan Island) and has become a high-tech business and consulting hub.

Amsterdam Schiphol Aerotropolis

Schiphol has emerged as the financial hub of the country, commanding rentals higher than downtown Amsterdam or even The Hague. With a daytime population of 62,000 and the highest office rents in all of the Netherlands, Schiphol is, in a sense, the largest city. Zuidas, located barely ten minutes away from Schiphol, is home to most of the country’s home-grown multinationals

The biggest advantage is that it is possible to fly into Schiphol, stay a couple of nights and finish a few business meetings, and squeeze in a couple of hours of shopping before catching the flight back home—all this without having to step out of the airport complex.

Dallas/Fort worth International Airport

The aerotropolis generated $31.6 billion in economic activity in 2013 for North Texas. According to a survey it was found that as of 2009, around the 25 busiest passenger airports in the US, 3.1 million jobs were located within a 2.5 mile radius of these airports; over 7.5 million jobs were located within a 5 mile distance; and 19 million jobs within 10 miles.

Conclusion According to the 2015 Workplace Trends Report, 80 airport cities around the world are either already fully functional or in early stages of development. These include 38 in North America, 20 in Europe and 17 in Asia-Pacific. Aerotropolises always turn out to be a massive port for commercial investment and the next destination for employment.

Courtesy: IFAN (Independent Financial Advisors Network)

OLMdesk@outlookindia.com