Aerotropolis concept finally gets off the ground

After a decade of vigorously promoting the "aerotropolis" concept, it appears that John D. Kasarda is finally getting somewhere. Kasarda, a professor at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill's Kenan-Flagler School of Business, is the developer and leading backer of the notion of an aerotropolis—a city built around a major airport that connects the community to the global marketplace. Although the concept has been cited in numerous magazine and newspaper articles over the years, it has remained little known outside the freight industry.

Now, it's attracting a great deal of popular attention, thanks to the book Aerotropolis: The Way We'll Live Next, written by Kasarda and journalist Greg Lindsay. As one reviewer who was familiar with the aerotropolis idea said, Lindsay's explanations "helped me understand both how the world has caught up with Kasarda's vision ... and connect it to what's going on more broadly in the global economy."

The book has been favorably reviewed in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Financial Times, among others. And in early April, Time magazine cited the aerotropolis as one of "10 Ideas That Will Change the World."

Aerotropolis: The Way We'll Live Next, published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux, sells for $30. It is available from online booksellers and in bookstores.