Airport management perceptions of local and regional planning regulations

Abstract

As forces of privatisation, commercialisation and globalisation transform airports into multi-functional urban nodes, they also cause increasing encounters with local, regional, provincial and national urban planning systems intended to regulate land use development and infrastructure provision in the wider community interest. This paper reports on aggregate findings from a global survey of senior airport managers, examining their perceptions of this urban planning environment. Over 80 responses were gathered from airports in 24 countries. While there was general support for existing arrangements at both local and regional levels, there is a remarkable convergence in the main types of planning problems being confronted. The findings tacitly underline the importance of a collaborative approach to the planning of airport regions.