Transport sustainability and the airport city

Abstract

The ability to make critical infrastructure systems more sustainable is particularly problematic in the transport sector, which is becoming increasingly scrutinized on account of its enormous reliance on fossil fuels and substantial impact on the global environment. Airports are increasingly becoming more ‘citylike’ and thus exposed to the kinds of longterm planning and sustainability issues presently confronting urban municipalities throughout the world. An increasing demand for air travel and the airborne transportation of goods also brings with it the threat of underexamined social, environmental and ecological impacts on the region supporting the airport metropolis,
especially regarding the need to expand existing airport facilities. This chapter reports on the concepts and issues underpinning the development of innovative sustainability indicators that will inform enhanced understanding of the operational needs of airport metropolises throughout the world. The incorporation of sustainability indicators as core functional elements is expected to inform management decisionmaking with regard to the potential impacts of an airport’s operations from a social, environmental and ecological perspective.