b'82 INDUSTRY INSIDERHave We Come Full Circle?Over the past several years,regulations included Order 1050, 5050-DEELLIIVVEERRIINNGGOOVVEERR2255YYEEAARRSSOOFFDI have wondered if we have4b, AC 150/5070, AC 150/5300-13,Sheldon Daisley, come full circle, where thejust to name a few. The AAAE Body ofAAE, AICP, has beenFL UO PEERRTTIISSEEProfessional Engineer (P.E.) is the onlyKnowledge modules chronicle the historyan airport planningF LU ORRIINNEE\x1f\x1fFFRREEEEFFOOAAMMEEXXPpractitioner for the eligible profession to lead an Engineeringof airport development with correspondingpast 25 years and and Airport Planning and Developmentfederal acts, orders and advisory circulars. is currently grants Department or Engineering and PlanningIn my opinion, an Airport Planningplanning manager for a multi-airportBIOEX continues to innovate with ECOPOL A3+ MILSPEC foam concentrateDepartment. This is because manyand Development Department does notsystem in the southwest U.S Previously, postings for these positions list only P.E.snecessarily need a P.E. to lead it, but ahe worked on the consulting side of in their Preferred Requirements, whileprofessional uniquely knowledgeable inthe business for Parsons Brinckerhoff other professionals with designations suchplanning, organizing and fulfilling federalAviation and HNTB. During that time, he as AIA (American Institute of Architects)developed master plans, land use plans, requirements to shepherd the capitalland use ordinances, facility plans and/or AICP (American Institute of Certifiedprogram from inception to implementation.Planners) are rarely mentioned. or environmental assessments for several What does that entail? It starts withmajor U.S. airports. Amazingly, the answer to this questionvisioning, which yields ideas that need to was given by the federal government inbe translated into actionable goals andyears, the Barn has housed office staff response to the U.S. Urban Renewal andobjectives through planning. When executed,(not a revenue-producing function). Now, National Highway Era, from the 1940s tothe tasks/projects outlined during planninghowever, the building must be demolished the 1970s. During that time, interrelatedshould create outcomes that achieve thebefore the end of its lifecycle to makeECOPPOOLLAA33MMIILLSSPPEECCprograms aimed to revitalize urban areasvision and goals initially identified. room for more lucrative uses.ECOby demolishing buildings and homes deemed to be substandard and, in turn,One crucial part of the planning processAnother example is the Rental Car redevelop them with new constructionis identifying the most feasible locationCenter at George Bush Intercontinental and roadway connections to other cities.to construct capital projects. This is theAirport (IAH) located south of Runway bread-and-butter skillset of a pure airport9-27 at the northern edge of undevelopedDESIGNED FOR The programs brought significantplanner, and it is often overlooked! The idealproperty. If it had instead been co-locatedAIRCRAFT FIRESnational economic benefits, but alsosite for a new facility enables it to connectwith a nearby EcoPark and Ride facility social upheaval and environmental decay.DESIGNED FOR U.S. MILITARY LAND-BASED OPERATIONSseamlessly with the overall airport fabric, andon the southern edge of IAH, the airport Such issues prompted criticism fromoperational efficiencies can abound.would have a multi-use transportation MILSPEC CERTIFIED (MIL-PRF-32725)individuals such as Jane Jacobs, Robertnode in the south, thus leaving this area F. Williams, John Francis and CharlesNew facilities are too often arbitrarily PROVEN EFFECTIVENESS:placed just to be near available greenfor future runway or terminal expansion. On new fuels: Gasoline and JET A1Young, not to mention non-profit groupsspace. On the contrary, a professionalAll said, planning is just as important as At nominal, half & double strengthlike the Environmental Defense Fund,planner develops a land use plan orengineeringfor vertical structures and DOES NOT GELthe Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Sierra Club.facilities plan that groups compatible usesflat work, too. HIGH EXTINGUISHING PERFORMANCES:next to each other and thus promotesA Capital Improvement Program Excellent burn back resistanceSo, what is the connection betweenfuture growth of those uses, while also this history and todays trend of airportsneeds to be structured not only for LOW VISCOSITY:hiring engineers to lead their Planning,reducing incompatible uses that wouldoperational functionality, but also to Compatible with all foam systemscreate costly relocations in the future. meet federal requirements and be Development and Capital ImprovementThis brings to mind cities like Chicago,environmentally sound. It benefits, not 100 % BIODEGRADABLEdepartments?S I LV E R TMDallas, Denver and Houston, which allonly from engineers, but a plethora of The Urban Renewal and Nationalneeded to build new airports outside ofsubject matter experts to address the Highway programs embodied an era oftheir city centers largely because theyentire process from visioning and planning weak planning. However, the activismfailed to protect/plan the surroundingsthrough construction and operational they inspired led to a spate of federalof their original airports to accommodatereadiness for opening day. regulations that require a multi-stakeholderfuture growth. planning process with a wide spectrumTwo of my early mentorsJill Tiedt, AICP of input from various professions to helpIt is critical to infuse planning techniquesand Arnold Rosenberg, P.E.stressed thatYOUR BEST PARTNER FOR FLUORINE-FREE TRANSITIONidentify impacts before construction.to avoid the need to relocate major assetsairports are much like cities and assured Such associated legislation includedin the future. Take, for instance, theme an urban planning degree would apply the National Environmental Policy ActBarn at Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX), awell to a career developing airports. They (1969), the Clean Air Act (1970) and thetwo-story structure built nearly 20 yearswere absolutely right. Resources Conservation and Recoveryago on beachfront property between theNote: The views expressed in this article are Act (1976). Within the aviation sector,airports landside and airside areasasolely those of the author, not his current orLearn more aboutprime location for terminal expansion. Forformer employers.ECOPOLA3+ MilSpecWWW. BIO-EX .US from BIOEXOctober 2025AirportImprovement.com'