Aerotropolis was not first to advocate Airport Cities. McKinley Conway of Conway Data, a highly respected
urban planner who founded the magazine "Site Selection" promoted Wayports as Airport Cities in an update
to his book titled “Airport Cities”. He said Wayports could be the nucleus of new Airport
Cities and “the sites chosen for wayports, however rural or undeveloped, will instantly become the
sites for new towns. Properly planned, the new wayport towns can provide a long awaited full scale demonstration of the airport
city concept”. Airport Cities surrounding Wayports would be beneficial by providing financial resources for development
and operations.
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The difference between Wayports and Aerotropolis is Wayports provides long-term nationwide airport system capacity
to relieve and off-load existing congested hub airports. Aerotropolis promotes commercial development around existing
hub airports that creates more congestion. Both promote Airport Cities. A solution is needed to help solve the nationwide
airport capacity problem. Wayports is a solution, Aerotropolis is not.
Conway wrote an article advocating
new Airport Cities. The article is shown under ENDORSEMENTS on this website with comments on VISION
and DEFINITION. Wayports would be Global Centers surrounded by commercial development that over time would become an Airport
City described in the article by Conway. Mac Conway was a visionary. His concepts about new cities with Wayports helping drive
development was available to those now promoting "Aerotropolis". A concept paper for a Global
Air Cargo-Industrial Complex written in 1990 by John Kasarda, a promoter of Aerotropolis, stated "As planning
for the complex moves forward, consideration should be given for developing a a wayport as a second phase at the site (year
2005-2010) and a third phase development (year 2010-2015) of short-time business centers, hotels, and recreation facilities
to serve in-transit passengers flowing into and out of the wayport". A 2003 article published in
Europe/Asia says "Dubai is the perfect Wayport-almost dead center of the world". It's the largest
airport in the world built by United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) an a location now supporting Aerotropolis. The name has changed
but the concept is the same. Mac Conway is not recognized as the person who originally conceived and advocated new
Airport Cities in books and articles and Wayports is not mentioned in publications by Aerotropolis. John Kasarda,
who coined the word Aerotropolis,endorsed Wayports in a report titled “A Global Air Cargo-Industrial Complex”.
The report said “As planning for the complex moves forward, consideration should be given for developing a wayport
as a second phase at the site (year 2005-2010) and a third phase development (year 2010-2015) of short-time use business centers,
hotels, and recreation facilities to serve in-transit passengers flowing into and out of the wayport. The wayport would complement
the global air cargo-industrial complex by offering cargo space for smaller load in the bellies of passenger planes frequently
flying between the wayport hub and commercial airports around the country”.
Current promoters of Aerotropolis should cooperate
in developing a strategy as to how their projects along with Wayports might enhance the long-term nationwide airport system.
Locations of Aerotropolis are based on whether local officials want one rather than where nationwide airport system capacity
is most needed. This will increase aircraft operations and airport expansion programs causing opposition based on environmental
issues like noise, air emissions and surface congestion.
