I was browsing the local paper this week and noticed a letter from a resident calling out my local airport at Venice for having installed a very expensive EMAS runway overrun system. You're familiar with these, I'm sure. EMAS is engineered material arresting system and in this context, it refers to sophisticated foam concrete blocks that crush and absorb the careening energy of an overrunning aircraft without collapsing the landing gear and/or causing significant damage to the airplane. I'm sure you've also seen the photos of airplanes up to their wheel hubs in this system after an overrun.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.avweb.com/air-shows-events/expensive-bricks-for-the-airport