"Suvarnabhumi airport resembled a shopping and entertainment hub"

This was how The Bangkok Post reported about the test day
at the new airport (kind of disparagingly).

But this is the new reality if you read about the latest airports.

An International Herald Tribune article quotes an airport specialist
who says, "There has been a change in the paradigm. Airports are
turning from government-provided infrastructure into
commercially operated businesses."

Suvarnabhumi Aerotropolis: To be or not to be?

International news programs are increasingly documenting
the growing number of aerotropolii (?) around the world. The
ABC (Australia) radio program Background Briefing recently
had a feature on the "Growth of the Aerotropolis"

However the political situation in Thailand makes it uncertain
whether Bangkok will be one. An article in the Bangkok Post
(July 22) stated that there were question marks hanging over
the new Suvarnabhumi city plan proposed by the government
seemingly due to a lack of leadership in the current political
stalemate.

Rise of the Aerotropolis: Bangkok and Detroit

A feature article in Fast Company ( July 2006) looks at the rise of the the conept of the aerotropolis and two in particular. One is Suvarnabhumi Airport, in Bangkok at Nong Ngu Hao, the "Cobra Swamp." The other is near Detroit. This is a quite extraordinary article and extraordinary vision of the future. But it seems plausible in such a rapidly changing world.
The arguments are compelling.

Of course, as with all big projects, there are opponents. But some of these are perhaps backward looking and out-of-touch with long-term trends. For example, read "Aerotropolis flies against reason" about Bangkok. A more balanced article is "high-flying vision faces down-to-earth obstacles" about Detroit. Of course, the more serious questions heading into the future air the resource and environmental ones. There is an interesting article, "Aircraft emissions:the sky's the limit" , in the June 8th Economist .

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra stated that Suvarnabhumi Airport will be ready for full operations on September 28. And the airport runway condition debate rumbles on.

Aerotropolis: Visionary, economic necessity or....doomed?

Is the idea of an aerotroplis visionary? It seems to have been successful in
some US cities. See the USA Today article, "New 'cities' springing up
around many U.S. airports". Also, According to Dr. John D. Kasarda,
Director of the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise at the University
Carolina at Chapel Hill:

"Airports will shape business location and urban development in the
21^st century as much as highways did in the 20^th century, railroads in
the 19^th andseaports in the 18^th."(The Aerotropolis).

Others point out the success of the aerotropolis is tied to the future
of oil (Aerotropolis Won't Fly)

Thaksin's Dream City

When Thaksin announced his "dream city" plan for the airport there was a lot of criticism.

However, an article in The Economist, "How airports act as a hub for business development" suggests the concept is not that bad.

Also, there is a book about 10 years old called 100 Mile City which has a chapter on airports as city centres in their own right. Massive shopping centres, massive employment centres, the success of the airport being a key driver of economic success of the city/region in which it sits. The best example is Heathrow which gets a huge share of flights into and out of Europe, and therefore has become a key location for businesses. Its a good chapter if you can track it down.