Based in Brisbane, QUT is a top Australian university with global connections and a reputation for quality undergraduate and postgraduate courses, a wide range of studies and applied research best suited to the needs of industry and the community.

The Queensland University of Technology, Faculty of Built Environment & Engineering and Faculty of Business, are undertaking an international collaborative research project linking University, Government and Industry Partners. This project will investigate the changing role of city airports to that of airport cities: The Airport Metropolis

‘The Airport Metropolis: Managing the Interfaces’ 4 year research program has financial and in-kind support from 13 government and industry partners and 4 universities worldwide.

The role, scale and meaning of major urban airports worldwide have changed over the past decade as a result of corporate and economic transformation. Modern airports are very different from traditional airports, and our previous knowledge is insufficient for understanding the complex roles and relationships now associated with airports. The airport can no longer be managed in isolation from the metropolis that it serves. The project will develop a theoretical and empirical basis for the new airport metropolis.

Airports are emerging as important sub-regional activity centres with growing complexity of land use, infrastructure, transport, environmental impacts and implications and stakeholder relations. As a result of such changes, airport impacts now pose considerable challenges for both airport operators and the surrounding urban and regional environment.

The Issues: Nationally and internationally , issues that are currently being faced include:

• environmental - impacts (space, noise and emissions) and resource use;

• related to infrastructure - inadequate and inequity in infrastructure provision;

• related to economy - inefficiencies and duplication of commercial investments;

• related to governance – challenges in decision-making, poor coordination between levels of government, and conflict between jurisdictions;

• related to transport - localised congestion, isolation of planning strategies; and

• landuse - conflicts and competition between airports and urban areas.

Our research aims to:

1. define and determine the drivers and dynamics of the present airport metropolis and the resultant interface relations within regional contexts;

2. design, develop and test a sophisticated decision-support diagnostic for undertaking complex decision-making to improve the current system;

3. establish economically viable and sustainable policy and planning options for developing the airport metropolis and world-leading best practices; and

4. contribute to the knowledge base of multi-dimensional complex systems mapping, integrated infrastructure framework development and interface theory.

Contact Details:

Queensland University of Technology
Faculty of Built Environment and Engineering
126 Margaret Street, Level 11
Brisbane Qld 4000

Postal Address
GPO Box 2434
Brisbane Qld 4001

Telephone: 07 3138 6786
Facsimile:   07 3138 1827

E-mail:      

Website:    www.airportmetropolis.qut.edu.au