<p>While the general public may be familiar with commercial airports, there are thousands of small General Aviation (GA) airports serving communities across the United States. Many of these airports are under pressure to survive and to bring in more revenue without impinging on the community and environment. Many organizations and governmental agencies such as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), now recognize the value of sustainable development and importance of operation to airport sustainability. Achieving operational sustainability is a means that may help airports on sustainable development and has positive impacts on airports’ economic viability, natural resource conservation, and social responsibility. However, airport operational sustainability is rarely defined in a consistent, measurable manner (Johnson & Gu, 2017).</p><p><br></p><p>This study explored the understanding of airport operational sustainability among five GA Regional and Local airports. Based on the findings, a new definition of airport operational sustainability for U.S Regional and Local GA airports was proposed. A set of performance metrics for airport operational sustainability was developed. The outcomes of the study may help airport shareholders contribute to airport sustainability planning through a better understanding of sustainability principles<a>. A set of performance metrics for airport operational sustainability </a>may be used to quantify the sustainability achievements of airports and help airports measure their performance.</p><p></p>

Display and function are a pair of conflicting concepts. The thesis focuses on displaying a sequence of functional spaces which are commonly not exposed to the eyes of the public, in this case, a general aviation airport. The greatest challenge over the course of the study was how to create displayable spaces without overlooking basic functional programs and deepen both concepts in the process. The airport is designed to fulfill the dual attributes of display and function. It is an aircraft museum, displaying the behind-the-scenes system from arriving, to maintaining, to towing, to parking, and to departing. As well, it is a fully-functional airport, consisting of a sequence of functional spaces, including: runway, taxi area, maintenance hangar, towing corridor, parking spots, and auxiliary spaces. In the context of the thesis, "display" means to expose the elements - aircraft and air travel - as an exhibit to be viewed or to be noticed by the public through spatial organization and scales of engagement. / Master of Architecture