The cities that thrive in the 21st century will be those that put airports at their centre, says US academic John Kasarda. But will the 'aerotropolis' serve the people – or just business?
There is, Kasarda says, a "new metric based on time and cost", and "location, location, location has been replaced by accessibility, accessibility, accessibility". Kasarda supports his arguments with batteries of statistics and predictions – that in 2030 there will be 13bn passenger journeys a year, compared with 4.9bn in 2010, or that an iPhone 5 is assembled from parts flown in from several countries.
As airports grow, argues Kasarda, they become more city-like. The shopping zone of Indianapolis International, he says, "really gives the feeling" of a town square. There are 6,000 weddings a year at Stockholm Arlanda, the Rijksmuseum exhibits art in Amsterdam's Schiphol, and the London Philharmonic is performing at Heathrow. "If you want to see the future," he says, "look at the Squaire" – a sleek, glassy slug in Frankfurt where KPMG has moved some of its operations, on the basis that it is only a few minutes' walk from workplace to check-in.
