inspection, I communicate with the pilots from the ground as well.” AN URBAN PLANNER’S APPROACH TO AIRPORT REVITALIZATION Andy Hume brings an unconventional perspective to airport management, viewing runways as roads and hangars as buildings in a miniature city. “My background is in urban and transportation planning,” he explains.“Prior to coming to the airport, I oversaw downtown revitalization for five years.” City officials specifically recruited him to apply revitalization principles to the airport and the adjacent Las Cruces Innovation and Industrial Park, recognizing parallels between urban renewal and aviation infrastructure development. The mandate was clear: transform the airport into an economic development engine. “I was asked to apply revitalization to the airport, that lens of economic development,” Hume says. “The elected officials wanted that brought to the airport and to the innovation and industrial park. That philosophy through the economic development department was, I guess you can call it a mandate.” Hume embraces the philosophy of Daniel Burnham, the renowned planner behind Chicago’s 1900 World’s Fair. “Make no small plans, or in our vernacular, go big or go home,” he quotes.“When it comes to things like our master plan update, seeking out economic development opportunities, are we thinking small? And if we’re thinking small, why are we thinking small?” The approach goes beyond grand visions to practical improvements.“You’ve got to make sure you have a good product, a safe product for folks to use,” Hume emphasizes. “When you have a gateway, you’ve got to have a nice presentation. Things like ‘have our buildings been painted recently?’ When folks land here and walk through the terminal for the first time, do they see a building that looks like it’s 50 years old? Have we done things like updated the furniture?” 6 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 12, ISSUE 07
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