Optimal Location of Urban Air Mobility (UAM) Vertiport Using a Three-Stage Geospatial Analysis Framework

Recent advancements in aviation and automation technologies have catalyzed the emergence of Urban Air Mobility (UAM), an innovative transportation paradigm involving the use of automated vertical take-off and landing aircraft for intra-city passenger travel. Despite growing global interest, the development and application of integrated geospatial frameworks for UAM infrastructure planning—particularly vertiport siting—remain limited. Thus, this study proposes a three-stage geospatial analysis framework, which consists of (1) Suitability analysis, employing multi-criteria decision-making techniques; (2) Regulation analysis, which screens out parcels restricted by aviation safety standards, land-use policies, and other statutory constraints; and (3) Location-allocation analysis, which spatially optimizes vertiport distribution in accordance with urban master plans and strategic transport priorities. Then, this framework is empirically applied to two South Korean UAM pilot sites—Busan and Jeju. The findings reveal that high-suitability areas are predominantly concentrated in dense urban cores with strong multimodal connectivity and mixed land-use configurations. However, a significant proportion of these zones are rendered infeasible due to regulatory exclusions, such as military flight paths and restricted airspace. Additionally, areas with lower suitability—often home to marginalized populations—raise critical equity concerns. This study contributes to the advancement of urban geospatial analytics by presenting a replicable methodological framework for vertiport site selection, while offering strategic insights to inform early-stage UAM deployment initiatives.