Air travelers in Denver are treated to a solar-powered, covered parking lot, mini-golf, a nearby wildlife refuge and two on-campus commuter rail lines. In Dallas-Fort Worth, local authorities recently approved plans for a six-story, extended-stay hotel on an existing 32-acre, mixed-use commercial space that already has offices, restaurants and retail shops. In Pittsburgh, private businesses have invested several hundred million dollars for manufacturing, industrial, office and warehouse space on airport property – and aggressive efforts to bring more direct flights to Pittsburgh International Airport are attracting new types of business to this former steel town.
The last century has seen cars that spawned the birth of industrial society, trains that sprawled across the country and connected the coasts, and planes that could traverse hemispheres in a matter of hours. This rapid development and deep-seated desire to be faster and safer has engendered a transportation arms race, and we're the main beneficiaries. The Hyperloop combines the best of both worlds and offers jet-like speeds for the cost of a bus-fare. It looks like 2017 will see some major developments for the storied technology.