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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]

A source of large surface areas for solar photovoltaic (PV) farms that has been largely overlooked in the 13,000 United States of America (U.S.) airports. This paper hopes to enable PV deployments in most airports by providing an approach to overcome the three primary challenges identified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA): (1) reflectivity and glare; (2) radar interference; and (3) physical penetration of airspace. First, these challenges and precautions that must be adhered to for safe PV projects deployment at airports are reviewed and summarized. Since one of the core concerns for PV and airport symbiosis is solar panel reflectivity, and because this data is largely estimated, a controlled experiment is conducted to determine worst-case values of front panel surface reflectivity and compare them to theoretical calculations. Then a general approach to implement solar PV systems in an airport is outlined and this approach is applied to a case study airport. The available land was found to be over 570 acres, which would generate more than 39,000% of the actual annual power demand of the existing airport. The results are discussed while considering the scaling potential of airport-based PV systems throughout the U.S. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: While traditionally many LCCs use secondary airports because of the availability of slots, spare capacity and low aeronautical cost, in recent years more and more LCCs are shifting their operations to major airports. This has made necessary for some major hub airports to attempt to attract LCC business. Since it is not clear whether such a move would improve or harm efficiency of the hub airports, this paper investigates this issue using a panel data of 63 major U.S. airports for the 2007–2010 period. After controlling the effects of other airport characteristics on efficiency, we found non-monotonic relationships between the level of LCC presence and airport efficiency. Efficiency of airport decreases as LCC presence increases from very low level, reaches the lowest efficiency point, and then increases as LCC services become dominant. Our empirical findings suggest existence of economies of airport specialization in either FSCs or LCCs. The even mix between FSC and LCC services at an airport appears to be inefficient. This result is somewhat contradictory to the findings of recent studies on LCC effects on European airports. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

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.