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The Making of an A ustralian ‘Airport City’
Author(s) -
FREESTONE ROBERT,
WIESEL ILAN
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
geographical research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.695
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1745-5871
pISSN - 1745-5863
DOI - 10.1111/1745-5871.12069
Subject(s) - redevelopment , aviation , typology , capital (architecture) , general aviation , geography , business , economic geography , regional science , economy , engineering , civil engineering , economics , archaeology , aerospace engineering
Globally, the changing nature of airports, and particularly the juxtaposition of general commercial land uses alongside aviation functions, is captured in the concept of the ‘airport city’. In A ustralia, commercialisation has impacted nearly all privatised capital city and general aviation airports. E ssendon A irport's contested transformation from a run‐down general aviation facility into an emergent business and retail hub in M elbourne's north‐western suburbs serves as an instructive case study of the evolution of the airport city as a new suburban typology. Drawing in part on in‐depth interviews with key stakeholders involved in the redevelopment process, this paper examines the conflicting forces that have driven commercialisation since the late 1990s, the spatial outcomes and the wider planning issues arising.