ABSTRACT
The prospective benefits of extensive drone operations point to an expansion of commercial operations in the urban environment over the coming decade. Operation in this complex environment, as compared to more remote and less densely populated areas, requires a more intense focus on considerations of risk (personal injury and property damage), technological protections and mitigations, management of very low-level airspace and its traffic, as well as aviation regulation, planning law and the rights of individuals to their privacy and peace. This chapter is written at a time when significant and concrete steps have been made in various countries towards integration of drones into this environment with the prospect of widespread commercial operations in many cities within the decade. This chapter considers the opportunities, benefits and challenges of operating in the urban environment before going on to describe the extent and nature of commercial drone and “air taxi” operations in cities.
