In Taiwan, the government will have to grasp this nettle following a suggestion from Stanley Yen, president of the Landis Group, that Taipei Songshan Airport be demolished and replaced with parkland and residential developments. The renowned hotelier and author believes the facility has outlived its usefulness and only such a large-scale construction opportunity could lure world-class developers to invest in the local market.
As the leader of Taiwan’s hotel industry, Yen is an individual worth listening to when issues of tourism and development are at hand. In a speech delivered Feb. 16 at the Presidential Office, he called for the capital’s airport to be torn down, with the site transformed into a New York Central Park-like recreational area featuring residential zones modeled after Tokyo’s Midtown.
But this is not expected to happen overnight. Yen envisages Songshan’s one-way departure from Taipei’s cityscape taking place after the island has grown strong enough to share, or surpass, Hong Kong’s position as a hub of trade and transportation services with mainland China. Although he warns that Taiwan’s achievement of this status is not a given and hinges on government efforts to develop cross-strait transportation and commercial markets.
Whether the administration is successful in achieving this goal or not, Yen is firmly of the belief that Songshan’s days are numbered. This is based on 2014’s expected opening of the mass rapid transportation line between Taipei and Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, which will remove a major obstacle blocking the facility’s closure: convenience. With MRT travel time expected to take no longer than 35 minutes, passenger objections concerning the airport’s distance from Taipei will disappear. Yen also stated that in 20 to 50 years time, a high-speed maglev train could be employed on this route, slashing trip duration to around 10 minutes.
In a nutshell, by improving public transport access to the international airport, the government has cleared the way for Songshan to be closed and its capacity shifted to Taoyuan without inconveniencing users. The vacated site, which is located in a densely populated area on Taipei’s north side, could then be redeveloped on a scale befitting one of Asia’s most dynamic metropolises. It is envisaged that low-rise housing will make way for skyscrapers, leaving more space for much-needed city greening projects.
This suggestion, which reflects modern-day realities of urban planning and community needs, is a progressive idea that would improve Taipei’s livability and boost its standing as an international city. It is also in sync with the thinking of policy makers in other fully industrialized nations who now question the viability of underutilized city airports.
Take the closure of Berlin’s historic Tempelhof Airport last October for example. Despite years of loss making, the city government and private sector were loath to bid auf wiedersehen to the smallest of the German capital’s three air hubs. Although it took a referendum and court order before the facility was closed, the decision resulted in a large chunk of the site being reserved for a 250-hectare park development. The plan has attracted high praise from locals and international city planners alike.
It is no secret that city parks and open space improve residents’ physical and psychological health. They also strengthen communities and make cities and neighborhoods more attractive places to live and work. In light of Taipei’s rapid and intensive capitalist economic growth, industrialization and urbanization, which kept city park development to a bare minimum, many argue that closing Songshan represents the best—and perhaps only—chance to create a world-class green space in the capital.
While this is not the first time the city airport’s existence has been questioned, it is particularly noteworthy as Yen has no barrow to push. In 2002, Democratic Progressive Party mayoral candidate Li Ying-yuan campaigned on a platform that included replacing Songshan with a park. After Li was defeated by then-incumbent Mayor Ma Ying-jeou, the idea was quickly shelved.
Not surprisingly, the suggestion to do away with Songshan runs contrary to government plans for the airport’s future. Just one day after Yen floated his idea, the Civil Aeronautics Administration dismissed it out of hand. Instead, the agency announced plans to turn Songshan into a business airport.
It is true that once an airport is lost it can never be replaced, but if a facility is retained simply for this reason, then it has probably passed its use-by date. The government may believe that Songshan airport is not at that point yet, but Yen’s redevelopment idea has wings and is well worth considering.
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