Kasarda with Ekurhuleni mayor Mondli GungubelDr. John D. Kasarda, Aerotropolis Institute China President photoDr. John D. Kasarda, Chief Advisor, Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone 2019
Kasarda has a background in economics, business, and urban sociology, and has conducted research on urban form, organizational structure, airport development, and regional economic growth. He has written 10 books and over 150 published articles, many of which synthesize two or more of these topics.[citation needed]
From 1980 to 1990, he chaired UNC's Department of Sociology, where he held the position of Kenan Distinguished Professor.[7] In 1990, Kasarda moved to UNC's Kenan-Flagler Business School as Kenan Distinguished Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship, and Director of the Frank Hawkins Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise.[8] Over the following 22 years, he worked at the Institute for the study of entrepreneurship, regional economic development, and global competitiveness, and helped establish the Kenan Foundation Asia in Bangkok,[9] where he continues to serve on its board and executive committee.[10]
Kasarda stepped down from UNC's Kenan Institute directorship in 2012,[11] but maintained his Kenan-Flagler faculty position.[12] Much of his research and applied work since 2000 has addressed how aviation and airports impact the competitiveness and growth of firms, cities, and regions.[13][14] Kasarda developed what he has termed the "aerotropolis" model for the role of aviation and airports.[15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25] His theories and applied work were elaborated upon in a 2012 book Aerotropolis: The Way We'll Live Next, co-authored with Greg Lindsay.[26]
Kasarda has consulted on various aerotropolis developments around the world, though his most extensive efforts have been in China.[27][28][29][30]
Kasarda's model has its critics[31] including an organization called the Global Anti-Aerotropolis Movement.[32] Nevertheless, its application has been expanding internationally, such as in Amsterdam, Beijing, Dubai, and Johannesburg, Memphis, Paris, Sydney, and Zhengzhou.
In 2006, The New York Times selected Kasarda's aerotropolis concept as one of its "Ideas of the Year".[34]
In 2010, Brazil awarded the State of Minas Gerais Grande Medalha of Inconfidência to Kasarda[35][36] for his contributions to the Belo Horizonte Aerotropolis.[37]
In 2011, Time magazine named the airport-centered concept as one of the "10 Ideas that Will Change the World".[38]
In 2013, Future Cities magazine named Kasarda one of the Top 100 City Innovators Worldwide.[39]
In 2015, Kasarda received China's 1000 Foreign Talents[40][41] national award for his work as Chief Adviser to the Zhengzhou Airport Economic Zone, an "aerotropolis" covering 415 km2.[42][43][44][45][46]
In 2016, he was awarded the Yellow River prize for his airport economic development work in Henan Province.[47]
^"Logistics & the Rise of the Aerotropolis". Real Estate Issues: 43–48. Winter 2000–2001.
^Kasarda, John D. (2000). "Aerotropolis: Airport-Driven Urban Development". ULI on the Future: Cities in the 21st Century. Washington, D.C.: Urban Land Institute.
^Charles, Michael B.; Barnes, Paul; Ryan, Neal; Clayton, Julia (2007-11-01). "Airport futures: Towards a critique of the aerotropolis model". Futures. 39 (9): 1009–1028. doi:10.1016/j.futures.2007.03.017.
^Kasarda, John (May 2015). "CURRICULUM VITAE"(PDF). Carolina Population Center. Archived(PDF) from the original on February 8, 2022. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
^Huang, Liang (2015-06-11). "我省引进的外国专家分别入选: 国家"外专千人计划"和"高端外国专家项目"". The People's Government of Henan Province. Henan Province Governmental Office. Retrieved 2016-09-05.
^"我省引进外国专家入选第五批"外专千人计划"". 河南省外国专家局. Henan Administration of Foreign Expert Affairs. 2015-06-18. Archived from the original on 2016-09-17. Retrieved 2016-09-05.
