Air transportation, airports, and the discourses and practices of globalization

The material processes of globalization are both enabled by, and place ever-growing demands on, the provision of transportation infrastructure and technology, particularly in major cities that function as nodes in global networks, However, the cities where such infrastructure is provided are not merely passively affected by the processes of globalization, but help to constitute those processes, particularly through debates over infrastructure expansion. This paper examines the connections between transportation and globalization via case studies of two major U.S. airports, showing how history, governance, airline service, and regional economic situation all play a role in mediating the effects of the processes of globalization on individual places, and in shaping those processes in turn.