Currently, 35 percent of the value of global trade is being shipped via aircraft. Building essential business infrastructure close to airports gives companies faster access to their suppliers and customers. It makes these enterprises, as well as the broader urban ecosystems in which they function, more versatile and efficient. The higher the value of the goods or services involved, the bigger the gains.
The trend is already in high gear, and not just in China. In the Netherlands, the "Amsterdam Airport Area" is home to more than 1,000 multinational firms. South Korea has the Songdo International Business District, built on reclaimed land near Incheon International Airport. Hong Kong, currently the busiest air-cargo hub in the world, has established Sky City, a massive retail, exhibition, office, hotel, and entertainment center.
In the United States, a sort of aerotropolis is developing in Texas outside the gates of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. One development called Las Colinas is home to the headquarters of nine Fortune 1,000 companies. Another, called Southlake, is an upscale residential neighborhood intentionally integrated within the air-hub ecosystem. It’s become a hotspot for upper-tier corporate executives, professional athletes, media personalities and others who like living a ten-minute taxi ride from their next flight.
“People who have to travel often for work want to live next to the airport,” says Mike Tesoriero, owner of Southlake Style Magazine. “There are many professional golfers and football players [here]; they travel often and they can catch their flights quickly and easily.”
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- An 'Aerotropolis' Grows Near Zhengzhou, China - CityLab, Tuesday, May 10, 2016 - 15:07