Airports and cities in the context of globalisation: A multidimensional symbiosis in Adolfo Suárez‐Madrid Barajas Airport

Abstract

The interpretation of airports as places where landings and take‐offs occur is obsolete. Globalisation, the “mobility era” and a so‐called “culture‐cognitive capitalism,” favour the reconceptualisation of airports and may turn them into necessary infrastructures for every city that aspires to be “global.” An airport–city symbiosis is analysed and is defined from a multidimensional perspective (operative, economic, and symbolic). These perspectives have led to important works of expansion and renovation of airport facilities and a multiplication of the services that may be developed within them. The results show this multidimensional symbiosis in general, although it is analysed in detail for the Spanish case study of the Adolfo Suarez‐Madrid Barajas Airport, which is the main air gateway of Spain to the rest of the world and the most important European hub connecting Latin America with Europe. Its global exposure is reflected in its ability to stimulate the economic and residential development of its surroundings and to strengthen the modern image of Madrid, thanks to morphological changes and increases in non‐aeronautical uses, which are viewed as city marketing initiatives that help to promote Madrid in the world urban hierarchy.