ABSTRACT
The purpose of this chapter is to begin to describe and explore possible theoretical insights concerning the group of multiple airports within a single city region. This is a major departure from dominant themes such as the airport as driver of economic development for a city region, the airport as a driver for the development of specific sectors of the economy, or the airport as a real estate catalyst. In each of these signifiers of airport-related research, the use of the definite article “the” almost implies that there is but one airport within a particular city region. This is clearly not the case in megapolitan city regions, such as Berlin, London, and New York, or even in sub-megapolitan city regions, such as Brussels, Marseilles, and Miami. The distinction goes beyond multiple international airports within a single city region. Here, the focus is squarely on the entire set of airports and airport functions – from major international passenger and cargo airports through executive airports and military or municipal airports to general aviation facilities – within a single city region.
