The Badgerys Creek Aerotropolis is seen as the catalyst to unlock the potential of the $5.3B Western Sydney Airport and transform the region's economy under the City Deal for Western Sydney.
A New York commercial artist, Nicholas DeSanti, coined the word aerotropolis when he sketched an airport on the roof of a skyscraper, in November 1939.
The term was repurposed by Dr John D. Kasarda, director, Air Commerce, at the North Carolina Business School, in the USA, who defined it in 2000 as a new urban form where cities are built around airports connecting workers, suppliers, executives and goods to the global marketplace.
Dr Kasarda prepared the report, A Western Sydney Aerotropolis, for the Sydney Business Chamber, in 2015.
“The engine for a Western Sydney aerotropolis will be the new airport at Badgerys Creek,” he said.
NSW Premier, Gladys Berejiklian, valued Incheon Aerotropolis as a model after visiting Seoul, South Korea, late last year.
“Incheon is a powerful example of how to leverage the economic impact of an airport by creating an aerotropolis, or city, around an airport, with thriving industrial and commercial presence,” she said.
An Investment Attraction Office would be established in the Liverpool CBD to coordinate the attraction of national and international investment to the aerotropolis, according to the City Deal for Western Sydney.
Global defence and aerospace company, Northrop Grumman Corporation, became an early supporter when it announced a $50M investment in May 2017 to develop an advanced defence electronics maintenance and sustainment “centre of excellence” to help sustain the advanced capabilities of the Australian Defence Force.
The NSW Farmers’ Association has proposed a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a 500-hectare “cutting-edge” fresh food precinct alongside the airport .Liverpool Council, which has the airport in its local government area, has the aerotropolis firmly in its sights with Bruce Macnee functioning as manager, aerotropolis and city planning.
