Investigation of the aerotropolis concept definition and its transferability from the Global North to Brazil

At the turn of the 21st Century, the aerotropolis (ATP), emerged from North America with an instigating message: "The way we'll live next". It referred to a new paradigm where cities would grow around airports to speedily connect cities, goods and people to distant places across the world. The aerotropolis idea has travelled worldwide as a new concept that has captured the attention of investors and decision-makers seeking to develop their airports. However, some scholars, particularly from the Global North (GN), have noted that the ATP lacks consistency in its definition and is often used interchangeably with the airport city concept. Furthermore, there is a gap in academic literature discussing the ATP concerning theory and practice. This research reflects on the differences of the ATP - how it is perceived and plays out in reality -, and whether this lack of clear definition affects the transferability of the aerotropolis concept, particularly from the GN to Global South (GS). It compares academic and commercial literature through an online survey (airport websites), document review (airport planning documents), and semi-structured interviews with city and airport planners from four case study airports/regions (Two in Brazil and two in the US). This research has identified that (i) the lack of consistency of the aerotropolis concept remains in the real world, (ii) the ATP is sometimes presented by planners as a different concept but is also used interchangeably with the airport city, that (iii) the aerotropolis is a controversial concept since airport and city planners have different perceptions of it (i.e. utopic, urban-economic and marketing concept). The findings suggest a gap between the idealistic visions of an aerotropolis versus the way it plays out in practice in the Global South. These findings also indicate that a differing conceptual framework and different perceptions of the aerotropolis may affect its transferability from the GN to Brazil.