Spatial economic evolution of the airport-centric developments of Cape Town and OR Tambo international airports in South Africa

Abstract

Among other categories of literature on the relationship between airports and land use, planning models of airport-led development are becoming bandwagons hailed by the proponents as key to the future of cities. While acknowledging the insights of literature, it is argued that concerted focus is required on analysing the spatial economic evolution of airport-centric developments. The aim of this article is to explore the evolution of the airport-centric developments of Cape Town and OR Tambo international airports in South Africa. Through the use of topographical maps, aerial photography and historical literature, the evolution is traced over six decades, namely the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. The article discovers that, despite policy and planning efforts, airport-centric developments occur over fairly long time frames. It is also imperative that the planning of airports and surrounds be informed by the integration of, among others, spatial, economic, and transportation planning at different scales.Keywords: Airport-centric development, Cape Town International Airport, evolution, OR Tambo International Airport, South Africa RUIMTELIKE EKONOMIESE EVOLUSIE VAN DIE LUGHAWE-SENTRIESE ONTWIKKELINGE VAN KAAPSTAD-EN OR TAMBO-LUGHAWENS IN SUID-AFRIKALiteratuur oor die verhouding tussen lughawens en grondgebruik toon dat beplanningsmodelle oor die ontwikkeling van lughawens deur die voorstaanders van hierdie ontwikkelingsmodelle tans beskou word as die sleutel tot die toekoms van stede. Terwyl die literatuur erken word, word daar aangevoer dat daadwerklik gefokus moet word op die ontleding van die ruimtelike ekonomiese ontwikkeling van die lughawe-sentriese ontwikkelings. Die doel van hierdie artikel is om die evolusie van die lughawe-sentriese ontwikkeling van Kaapstad-en die OR Tambo-lughawes in Suid-Afrika te verken. Deur die gebruik van topografiese kaarte, lugfoto's en historiese literatuur, is die evolusie nagespoor vir ses dekades, naamlik die 1950 's, 1960's, 1970's, 1980's, 1990's en 2000's. Die ondersoek toon dat, ten spyte van beleid en beplanningspogings, lughawe-sentriese ontwikkeling oor taamlike lang tydsraamwerke voorkom. Dit is ook noodsaaklik dat die beplanning van lughawens en omgewing in kennis gestel word deur die integrasie van, onder andere, ruimtelike, ekonomiese en vervoer-beplanning op verskillende skale.Sleutelwoorde: Ewolusie, lughawe-sentriese ontwikkeling, Kaapstad internasionale lughawe, OR Tambo internasionale lughawe, Suid-Afrika PHETOHO YA MORUO WA SEBAKA SE MABAKI LE MAEMAFOFANE A MATJHABATJHABA A CAPE TOWN LE OR TAMBO AFRIKA BORWAKa hara dikarolo tse ding tsa dingolwa tse mabapi le dikamano pakeng tsa boemafofane le tshebediso ya lefatshe; dimodele tsa ditlhophiso tse itshetlehileng hodima ntshetsopele ya boemafofane, di ntse di tuma ka lebaka la batshehetsi ba ka sehloohong bokamosong ba ditoropo. Ha ho ntse ho anamelwa dintlha tsa dingolwa, ho ngangisanwa ka hore tsepamiso e hlophisitsweng ya maikutlo e a hlokahala bakeng sa ho lekola phetoho ntshetsopeleng...

Specialised airport infrastructure to support connectivity: The case of Dube Tradeport, eThekwini Municipality, South Africa

“…Modal competition between air, road, rail and sea comes into play where highvalue goods are dependent on timing, but not urgent. There is substantial planning literature on airport-led development that explains the socioeconomic dynamics surrounding airports and the production of urban development in support aviation-and non-aviation-related land uses (Freestone & Baker, 2011;Mokhele, 2017;Charles et al, 2007;Stevens & Baker, 2013;Stevens, Baker & Freestone, 2010) and on the cargo side-related air logistics (O'Connor, 2010; Coetzee & Swanepoel, 2017;Boloukian & Siegmann, 2016;O'Connor, 2013). The sequencing of broader property development investment decisions in the case study and the importance of the port relative to the airport in attracting logistics activity are part of a broader study not covered in this article.…”

Towards the operationalization of a spatial economic theory for airport‐centric developments

“…In the case of South Africa (which is used hereunder to contextualize the proposals), the initiatives can, where relevant, be integrated into the wider forward planning initiatives, that is, (spatial) development frameworks and local area plans for instance, and the associated land use management instruments. This assertion is based upon an elementary premise that for airport‐centric developments to be successful, they should not be considered in isolation of other planning initiatives at the municipal, provincial, national and international spheres (Mokhele, ).…”

“…Further work is required on a variety of case studies to test, improve and elaborate on the work here proposed. It should be noted that the work presented herein is a climax of a series of manuscripts and papers, including the following: evolution of the airport‐centric developments of OR Tambo and Cape Town airports (Mokhele, ); spatial economic attributes of the airport‐centric developments of OR Tambo and Cape Town airports (Mokhele, ), and a manuscript on the theoretical framework for airport‐centric developments of OR Tambo and Cape Town airports (Mokhele & Geyer, accepted for publication). The paper builds upon the aforementioned work and focuses particularly on the potential use of the theoretical framework.…”

“…To avoid being enmeshed in the hype of airport city, aerotropolis or other normative models of airport‐led development, it is important to note that the paper uses a fairly neutral term of airport‐centric development to refer to a collection of airport‐centric firms. These are firms that are located at the following areas: one, around the airport, that is, at areas that are geographically proximate to the airport (and contiguous with that airport), but outside the airport land; two, on the landside, that is, on the airport's land; and three, within the airport's terminals (see Mokhele, , ).…”

The volatility of institutional arrangements that influence development: The case of Bram Fischer International Airport in South Africa

“…Citing several examples, Mokhele (2017) notes that like in other parts of the world, the models of airport-led development are gaining wide currency in South Africa. However, despite the growing popularity of the so-called airport-led development, there is a lack of literature investigating how the institutional arrangements of African landscapes might facilitate or inhibit the implementation of such development.…”