Parks and Other Recreational Uses on Airport Property (2024)
Chapter: 2 Study Methodology
CHAPTER 2
Study Methodology
This chapter presents an overview of the study methodology, including a description of the literature review conducted. The interview process is also presented.
Literature Review
Prior to speaking with airport staff on the topic of parks and recreational use of airport land, a comprehensive review of the literature was conducted. Due to the lack of literature specifically related to airports on this topic, literature highlighting general airport land use was also reviewed as appropriate. Sources were discovered through numerous platforms, including Google, Google Scholar, OneSearch (powered by EBSCO), Transportation Research International Documentation (TRID), and the websites of the American Association of Airport Executives (including the Association’s Accreditation Papers library), and the FAA.
Interview Participants
The focus of this synthesis meant that only select airports were eligible to participate in interviews. This eligibility was constrained to those airports known to have dedicated parks or recreational uses on airport property. Through a comprehensive online search using terms such as “airport parks” and “airport recreation,” a list of 25 airports with publicly accessible parks or other recreational uses was created.
Interview Methodology
Using the list of airports with publicly accessible parks or other recreational uses developed for this synthesis, 12 airport managers were contacted via phone during January 2024. Interview questions are presented in Appendix A. The intent of the interviews was to better understand uses of airport land for parks and recreation, including challenges experienced and community benefits. These airports were contacted for the purpose of developing case examples for the report, and 11 case examples are presented in Chapter 4.
