Airport-city region symbiosis in the global emergence of Southeast Queensland, Australia

• Novel framework developed to assess global city emergence through airport-city region symbiosis. • Airports act as keystone players in the emergence of global city regions. • Cultural Interaction, Environment, Research & Development, and IT, as soft global city factors, exert a strong influence on the emergence of global city regions through airport-city region symbiosis. • Reveals cross-regional variation in global emergence across large, medium, and small airport-city regions within Southeast Queensland (SEQ), Australia. . This study argues that airport-city region research should focus on airports and city regions as interdependent actors within a single business ecosystem, rather than predominantly examining their linear economic impacts or accessibility benefits. Their growth and global emergence are interpreted here as being associated with these symbiotic relationships. In this paper, we examine residents’ and professionals’ perceptions and expectations of how global city attributes (GCAs) and global power city index (GPCI) criteria align with expected emerging global city region (EGCR) development outcomes in an airport-city region context. Using cross-sectional survey data from Southeast Queensland (SEQ), Australia, we develop a conceptual model comprising composite scores for six GCAs (connectedness, networks, governance/management, scale/size, information technology, migration/tourism), six GPCI criteria (economy, research & development, cultural interaction, livability, environment, accessibility), and an EGCR expected outcome scale. Spearman’s rank-order correlations and univariable and multivariable regressions are used to estimate unadjusted and adjusted associations between GCAs/GPCI criteria and expected EGCR outcomes, with interpretations organised through a lens of airport-city region symbiosis. Results show that respondents perceived connectedness, information technology, and migration/tourism (GCAs), together with cultural interaction, economy, research and development, and environment (GPCI criteria), as most strongly associated with expected EGCR development outcomes when interpreted through the airport-city region symbiosis lens. A perceived airport role in city-region development also shows a comparatively significant association in adjusted models. The findings offer stakeholder-based evidence to inform airport and city-region planning in a fast-growing multi-airport city region, while emphasising that results should be interpreted as stakeholder expectations rather than causal effects. Future research should triangulate perceptions with longitudinal and objective indicators. This will help policymakers, urban planners, and airport authorities plan integrated and adaptive strategies that align with stakeholder expectations for globally competitive regional development.