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This paper applies the dynamic panel data generalized method of moments estimator to the data on commercial passenger air traffic at all primary airports in the United States to evaluate the impact of traffic volume and number of destinations served with non-stop flights on the key indicators of regional economic development. We find that number of destinations served with non-stop flights has a much clearer and more robust impact on level of employment, number of business establishments, and average wage in the region. Passenger traffic volume affects employment and average wage, but not number of establishments. At the sample median, connecting a metropolitan statistical area with an extra destination, keeping everything else constant, creates 98 jobs and facilitates the opening of four new business establishments that employ people. The corresponding numbers for the sample mean are 223 jobs and 15 businesses. The impact of air travel on regional economic development is influenced by competition on the respective airline markets. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The paper examines the potential role that airfreight transport in the US can play in stimulating local and regional economic development. The analysis examines trends in employment and income for metropolitan statistical areas that make use of airfreight services. The focus is on causality, and not on simple correlation, and uses econometric analysis rather than simpler economic multiplier approaches. Granger causality testing based on panel data covering 35 airport and 32 metropolitan statistical areas in the US from 1990 to 2009 indicates that airfreight transport was a positive driver for local economic development. The conclusions focus on the strengths but also the weaknesses of the methodology for assessing causality. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper an attempt is made to establish a relationship between airport capacity and economic development in the Chicago metropolitan area. Formulating a quantitative link between infrastructure and development has proven difficult. In the analysis adopted in this paper an association between employment growth and airport enplanements is used to provide the link. The employment data are then fed into an econometric input-output model of the region's economy to assess the impact of future capacity limitations on employment growth, income, and gross output in the Chicago region over the period 2001–18. The capacity is assumed to be disembodied (i.e., there is no prior assumption about expansion of existing facilities or the creation of a new, third airport). The results indicate that without additional capacity employment losses (jobs that would otherwise have been expected to be located in the region) would amount to 84,000 in 2001 (2.24% of estimated jobs for that year) rising to 522,000 in 2018 (11% of total jobs). In income terms the losses amount to 13.6% of total income in 2018 and gross output (the volume of goods and services produced) would be reduced by 16% in the same year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transportation infrastructures play an essential role in influencing population and employment change. While railroads, highways, and airports were constructed in different time periods, now they complement each other in terms of providing accessibility. This study uses county-level data to examine the impacts of the three forms of transportation infrastructure on population and employment change in the continental United States from 1970 to 2010. The findings suggest that transportation infrastructures play evolving but complementary roles in affecting population and employment change during the study period: railroads act as a distributive factor, highways take a facilitator role, and airports behave like growth poles. Diversification of the roles indicates that transportation infrastructures have evolved from a pure growth factor to an essential multifaceted development element of human society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The objectives of this study were to examine (1) the linkage from airports to regional talent distribution and (2) the effect of talent on regional economic development. Methods: Using the data collected in Wisconsin at the municipal level, a subcounty level, in a region of the North Central United States from 1970 to 2010 and the American Community Survey 2006–2010 five‐year estimates, and random effects models and structural equation models, we employ descriptive and inferential statistics to examine the linkage from airports to talent to regional economic development. Results: We find that the farther a location is away from the airport, the lower its talent share tends to be, while greater passenger flow at the nearest airport increases a location's talent share. Given the quantity of passenger flow, a longer distance from the airport also reduces a location's talent share. The results furthermore suggest that economic development is impacted positively by passenger flow and talent share and negatively by distance to an airport. Conclusion: Our results underscore the intermediate role of talent between airports and regional economic development; building the linkage from airports to talent within the context of regional economic development provides important insights for local policy making aimed at attracting talented migrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the most important transport modes in the USA, air transportation has both influenced economic development and been influenced by it. Knowing the scale of these effects is important both for the development and management of airports, and for policy makers who make strategic decisions regarding airport planning and investment. Prior studies of the economic impacts of air transportation have focused mainly on the ties between large airports and regional economic development. Much less attention has been paid to the impact of small airports on their local areas. Some argue that small airports operating a passenger model not unlike an urban transit service can contribute significantly to regional economic development. However, with the exception of some work on high-income tourist destinations, previous studies provide little clear evidence to support a strong positive correlation between local air transportation and economic development. Furthermore, the direction of causation between air traffic and economic development is not entirely clear: regional economic development driven by other factors can lead to more air traffic; however, it is also possible that by generating traffic, airports act as a catalyst for local investment. This study uses a sample of 66 small airports in Virginia to explore the functional relationship between local air transportation and regional economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents abstracts on city planning-related topics, including visions of waterfront development in postindustrial Philadelphia, the construction of a town planning perception of Colombo, and city planning and the U.S. census.

An ample academic literature discusses airports’ utility as economic development anchors for metropolitan areas, yet very little is known about the administrative apparatus of these important local government enterprises. To better understand airport structure and management in the United States, directors of primary airports were surveyed. Based on this national survey, the administrative structure and position of airports with regard to local government—i.e., special district or functional department—were examined to determine the place these entities occupy on the local government management landscape, as well as the implications of retaining airport authorities in studies of special-purpose governments. This essay concludes that airport authorities do not follow the conventional form and function of special-purpose governments. Consequently, analyses of special-purpose governments should exclude airport authorities because these nonconforming entities may cloud rather than clarify our true understanding of special-purpose governments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]