We all know how we got to where we are. But once there the viewpoint of the landscape has changed. Those enormous tracts of land we call airports are now considered ripe for commercial development into high rise apartments made of cheap flammable materials.
In a climate were short-term thinking wins hands down, any opinion to the contrary will be considered obstructionist. You're also outnumbered by the morons holding this lack of foresight.
Sorry for the pessimistic view but if your house is considered to be worth over $1m then that is the only thing the common people and ultimately the politicians are willing to care about.
Aviation?