Aerotropolis, The Way We Will Live Next

Cities used to build airports, now airports build cities. Ultramodern ‘aerotropoli’ are fast becoming global hubs, as well as breathtaking feats of engineering and architecture. But what are they like to live in? This project offers a look inside the original groundbreakers: Changi in Singapore, Cathay City in Hong Kong, New Songdo in South Korea, Suvarnabhumi in Bangkok and Schiphol in Amsterdam. Together, the new hubs have drawn in tens of thousands of residents, all with hopes of good jobs, new homes and global connection. What is an aerotropolis? It is a city whose main function is its airport, which boosts business and development in a hub around it. The idea belongs to futurist John D. Kasarda, who believes airports will be the capitols of the future: ‘Look for yesterday’s busiest train terminals and you will find today’s great urban centers, look for today’s busiest airports and you will find the great urban centers of tomorrow’. On paper, they can be powerful engines of economic development. On the ground, they are sleek, clean, safe and functional – often kitted out with the latest technology. Locals and distant travellers alike can conduct business, shop, eat and sleep. In a way, these cities have been an experiment for society: they have created new kinds of livelihoods and communities. This project aims to reveal them. It captures hundreds of businesspeople pouring over the desktops at the nerve centre for the world’s largest flower auction in Aalsmeer, a stone’s throw from Schiphol Airport. In Singapore, it explores the abundant greenery of Gardens by the Bay, an immense land reclamation project that triumphs botany and nature. In New Songdo, it captures an elderly woman looking out of her new skyrise apartment for the first time. This project comes at an important time. Already, Kasarda’s blueprint is responsible for around 40 aerotropoli all over the world, and there are many more in the pipeline. If the model becomes the way we live next, it is vital to show how they have already lifted and changed human lives. As new aerotropoli grow all over the world, this body of work is the first to consider their citizens in depth.