Print Email Facebook Twitter Strategic integration of public transport networks with airport infrastructure in the megalopolis of Central Mexico: Evolution and challenges Title Strategic integration of public transport networks with airport infrastructure in the megalopolis of Central Mexico: Evolution and challenges Author Salinas, C.R. Garcia Cejudo, D. Van Timmeren, A. Faculty Architecture and The Built Environment Department Urbanism Date 2014-03-19 Abstract Airports represent the contemporary global gateways of metropolitan areas worldwide. In the case of the megalopolis of Central Mexico, air transport was traditionally used only by upper social segments of the population, however, during the last years, the introduction of low-cost airlines in the country has caused that the amount and economic range of people travelling by plane is expanding to other social segments requiring more affordable means of getting to the airport than those traditionally used in the past such as private car or taxis. The starting point of this paper is the analysis of the airport infrastructure of Mexico City, which largely comes down to five airports: AICM, Toluca, Puebla, Cuernavaca and Queretaro. Investigated is their interrelation and the integration of public transport networks on both the local and the regional scale. In spite of their role as relevant attractors in these specific airport regions and therefore necessary transport connections they require (not only for their travellers, but also for the people working at them), airports in the megalopolis of Mexico can be characterized by their lack of integration with public transport networks. Notably, the development of airport infrastructure has been realized gradually over the years and in most cases public transport connection, if implemented at all, was done in later stages of the airport infrastructure development process. In the megalopolis of Mexico City this lack of integration affects negatively the attractiveness of the alternative venues of the metropolitan airport network that are currently underused, indirectly contributing to the fast saturation of Mexico City main (international) airport, and negatively affecting the competitiveness of the other cities of the larger metropolitan region. This paper states that the development of mobility networks linking different airports to public transport in the region could be used as a strategic tool not only for enhancing airport accessibility, but also for improving the sustainable urban development and mobility in the larger metropolitan region for different types of regular (non-airport related) users of public transport. Taking into account the current trends of development of public transport in the region (BRT, metro, trains) and the region’s airport accessibility is problematic, this paper explores the following hypotheses: What if the new proposed train lines and BRT systems in the metropolitan areas of the larger Mexico City region were used as tools for accessibility of this ‘megalopolis’ in a wider sense? and: What if those systems were used as part of a strategic vision for mobility linking the different metropolitan areas of the megalopolis of Mexico? Therefore, this paper explores the possibilities and potentials for improving the integration of the five existing airports to public transport as well as the challenges this integration would face and the benefits this might bring for the larger metropolitan region of Mexico City. Subject airport accessibilityMexico City airport networkmulti-airport networkmegalopolis of Central Mexicomulti-modal public transport integration To reference this document use: http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:ec76ce2f-5e93-42f2-911f-7a9a0810aa78 Source 44th Annual Meeting Urban Affairs Association, 2014 UAA Conference: Borders and Boundaries in an Age of Global Urbanization, San Antonio, Texas, USA, 19-22 March 2014 Part of collection Institutional Repository Document type conference paper Rights (c) 2014 The Author(s) Files PDF 314869.pdf 1.62 MB Close viewer /islandora/object/uuid:ec76ce2f-5e93-42f2-911f-7a9a0810aa78/datastream/OBJ/view