Airspace, Air Rights, and Law

If you’re interested in air rights and the use and contestation of air space, you may find this of interest. Interaction designer Nelly Ben Hayoun and geography researcher Dr Alison J Williams teamed up for Airspace Activism, a project that investigates the geographies of UK military airspaces which are used by air forces to train and prepare for combat situations.

During the early years of aviation aircraft flew at a relatively low altitude. However, laws existed that gave land-owners ownership of the entirety of the vertical space above the footprint of their house, including the air. This led to a myriad of problems for aviators and landowners who became locked in battle over payment for access to these spaces.

Here’s a good interview with the artists, including tactics on creating disruptive “white noise.”

Tags: Art Law, installation art, interventions, performance art, property rights, sculpture