Aerotropolis

“A fascinating window into the complex emergent urban future. This book is an extremely sophisticated, often devastatingly witty and ironic interpretation of what is possible over the next two decades. It is not science fiction. It is science and technology in action. The authors have one foot firmly planted in the possible and foreseeable.”—Saskia Sassen, Professor, Columbia University, and author of Territory, Authority, Rights

“An essential guide to the twenty-first century.”—Tom Vanderbilt, author of Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us)

“Thanks to the manifold effects of modern aviation, earth and sky are merging in our world faster and more thoroughly than most people know. But you won’t be most people after reading Aerotropolis. Throw out your old atlas. The new version is here.”—Walter Kirn, author of Up in the Air

“Aerotropolis presents a radical, futuristic vision of a world where we build our cities around airports rather than the reverse. This book ties together urbanism, global economics, international relations, sociology, and insights from adventures in places that aren't even on the map yet to present a plausible new paradigm for understanding how we relate to the skies. Perhaps the most compelling book on globalization in years.”—Parag Khanna, Senior Fellow, New America Foundation, and author of How to Run the World

“Very few people realize how profoundly air transport is changing our cities, our economies, our social systems, and our systems of governance. If you want to be way ahead of the curve in understanding one of the most important drivers of change for the twenty-first century, read this book.”—Paul Romer, Senior Fellow, Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research

“Aerotropolis redraws the world map, using air routes to trace the new connections and competition between mega-regions that will shape the geography of the Great Reset. This lively, thought-provoking book is a must-read for anyone interested in how and where we will live and work in a truly global era.”—Richard Florida, director of the Martin Prosperity Institute, University of Toronto, and author of The Great Reset

“Aerotropolis comprehensively explains the enormous effects modern aviation has on cities and countries around the world. It is a unique resource.”—Frederick W. Smith, Chairman and CEO, FedEx Corporation

"Where are the flying cars we were promised back in the 1930s? They're just around the corner—sort of, write Kasarda and journalist Lindsay in this fascinating study . . . Case studies of failures, successes and known unknowns are music to a logistician's ears: Why, for instance, should so much air traffic now pass through the Persian Gulf? Because the emirates are blank slates for the experiment, and, as one Abu Dhabi–based technologist says, 'because we can fly nineteen hours nonstop now, we're able to reach any city in the world from here.' The brave new world is on the way, and it's coming in by air."—Kirkus Reviews

"Kasarda developed the 'aerotropolis' concept—a combination of a giant airport, planned city, business hub, and shipping center—for cities in China, the Netherlands, Africa, and the United States, among other locations . . . [He] and journalist Lindsay present not only the theories but the nitty-gritty stories of how the concept was put into practice, the people involved, and an examination of the factors leading to the transformation of these cities. The text includes an extensive bibliography for further reading and research. This thoughtful study of the aviation-centric city plan and its impact on city planning, globalization, and world trade, among other factors, should be read by business students and faculty, practitioners . . . Highly recommended."—Lucy Heckman, St. John's University Library, Jamaica, New York, Library Journal

"Financial journalist Lindsay introduces readers to the ideas of academic and global management guru Kasarda, explicating and championing Kasarda's concept of the aerotropolis, urban design premised on the centrality of air transport, air routes, and airports. Lindsay reviews the uneven history of major American airports, designed 'before we knew what they were for,' while praising two recent aerotropli, Memphis and Louisville—'the cities that "shipping and handling" built'—whose revitalized economies and infrastructures were attendant on the rise of hometown global giants FedEx and UPS, respectively. Skyrocketing numbers of air travelers reinforce 'Kasarda's Law of Connectivity': technologies circumventing physical distance, from the telegraph to the Internet, only fire our desire to travel ourselves. The inevitability of an airborne future rests on economic but also human imperatives. The prose is brisk and affable . . . Our increasing dependence on air travel is real . . . this is an eye-opening picture of that trend."—Publishers Weekly