Posted on

Airports and cities: Can they coexist?

Document Library
Cities

This 2001 World Watch article by Ed Ayres examines the growing conflict between expanding airports and the cities surrounding them, highlighting the serious health, environmental, and noise impacts on nearby residents. It challenges the conventional mindset of simply building more airport capacity, noting that a 747 takeoff produces as much air pollution in two minutes as 3,000 cars, and that people living near airports face higher rates of illness and psychological harm. The article explores innovative design alternatives, such as inclined runways and energy-recovering landing systems, as more sustainable solutions to meeting rising air travel demand.

Open full document

Notes

World Watch magazine article by Ed Ayres (July/August 2001) examining the growing conflict between expanding airports and urban areas. Discusses ecological designer Jim Starry’s proposals for inclined runways, pre-rotating wheels, and regenerative braking to reduce fuel burn and noise at major airports including Denver International, Kuala Lumpur International, and Paris Charles de Gaulle. Covers airport air pollution (Natural Resources Defense Council study finding a 747 emits as much pollution in two minutes as 3,000 cars), health impacts on nearby residents including psychological impairment and mortality, and rapid global airport expansion in China, Mexico, and the United States under AIR-21 (Airport Reform and Investment Act for the 21st Century).

Sidebar On/Off
V V