The Concept of the Aerotropolis Based on the Development of Hong Kong International Airport

Abstrakt

Large airports have become key hubs in the global economy, offering speed, efficiency and connectivity. They are also ‘powerful engines’ of local economic development. Currently passenger terminals are seen as modern shopping centres and recreational facilities, while hotels, entertainment complexes and conference facilities are very often located in airportsurrounding areas, thus creating a new urban structure called the aerotropolis. The basic benefit of the emergence
of the aerotropolis in the region is the creation of new jobs (Dallas-Fort Worth Airport provides four hundred thousand jobs within a five-mile radius of the terminal, and O’Hare half a million. The twenty-four aerotropolis world-wide are home to one fifth of companies in the IT, financial, consulting, scientific and technical sectors.) whose growth is seven times faster than in the centres of other cities. This newly-formed urban structure is revolutionizing logistics and transport as well as the way we live. In 2011, Time magazine called the aerotropolis one of 120 ideas that would change the world. Therefore, the aim of the work is to describe and analyse the changes taking place at Hong Kong International Airport and its surroundings which are significant from the point of view of the creation of an urban structure called the aerotropolis. The article describes the evolution of Hong Kong International Airport and its surroundings, pointing to particular aspects of its development in the process of the formation of the aerotropolis. The publication is of an illustrative nature and is based on the analysis of literature pertaining to the subject and Internet resources. The study is based on a number of reports, including those of scientific, social and economic background, as well as electronic documents and grey literature. The maps, on the other hand, are a result of field research and personal experience of one of the authors gained from a stay in the discussed place.