Max Hirsh — Research Publications

Airport Planning & Design

"How Will AI Reshape Aviation?" Airport Urbanism (2026)

"How Do Successful Cities Build a New Airport — and Redevelop the Old One?" Airport Urbanism (2025)

"Foreign Experts and Chinese Airports." Infrastructure and the Remaking of Asia. University of Hawaii Press (2023)

"The Origins of China's Aviation Infrastructure." China Quarterly (2023)

“The New Berlin Airport: Your Flight Has Been Delayed.” Architectural Histories (2021)

“Southeast Asia’s Low-Cost Aviation Infrastructure.” Mobilities (2018)

“What’s Next for China’s Airports?” China Daily (2018)

"Airports Designed for People.” Passenger Terminal Today (2018)

“Greenfield Airports: What Drives Success?” Passenger Terminal Today (2017)

“Simulating Global Mobility at Shenzhen International Airport.” Learning from Shenzhen. University of Chicago Press (2017)

Airport Real Estate

"What's the Future of Airport Real Estate?" Journal of Airport Management (2026)

"Airports as Real Estate Developers." Real Estate Development and the Built Environment. University of Pennsylvania Press (2026)

“Airport Real Estate Values: What Drives Growth?” Journal of Airport Management (2022)

“The Four Key Success Factors for Developing Airport Cities.” Urban Development Issues (2020)

“Developing Landside Real Estate: An Airport Urbanism Approach.” Journal of Airport Management (Spring 2019)

"What's Wrong with the Aerotropolis Model?" Site Selection (2017)

Airport Urbanism

Airport Urbanism: Infrastructure and Mobility in Asia. University of Minnesota Press (2016)

"Airport Urbanism: Remaking Hong Kong, 1975-2025." Exhibition at Venice Architecture Biennale (2025)

“Airport Infrastructure and Urban Design.” Routledge Companion to Urban Design (2019)

“When the Megaproject Meets the Village.” Critical Approaches to Contemporary Architecture (2019)

“Cities and Social Progress.” Rethinking Society for the 21st Century. Cambridge University Press (2018)

Research Appointments

Dr. Hirsh has served as a visiting professor at Harvard, ETH Zurich, National University of Singapore, and University of Hong Kong. Currently, Dr. Hirsh is a senior fellow at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Check out some of Max's research seminars and design studios.