The reality of Manhattan vs. rolling-hills/open-sky (was Non-locals

> > I feel that a perception of being "outdoors", with natural
> > insolation, weather, and day/night cycle will be important
> > features for space habitats if we have any desire for them to
> > become globally relevant.
>
> I was under the impression that Manhattan and other dense metro
> areas did not incorporate those features, yet remained not only
> globally relevant but increasingly so.
>
> Increasing numbers and proportions of people are living their
> entire lives inside mixed-use buildings that contain residences,
> offices, hotel-rooms, retail outlets, restaurants/bars, nightclubs,
> etc.
>
Realistically, this is probably much closer to what real space
colonies will be like. A space colony is expensive to build, and
having invested all that expense, you're not going to settle for a
population of 10k when you can fit in 100k instead -- you'll build a
dense city, like Manhattan, rather then a sprawling suburb.

But if we're going for realistic, we should probably speculate that
by the time space colonies become practical in any serious way, we'll
probably already have mind uploading -- in which case, it will be
many orders of magnitude cheaper, more practical, and more
comfortable for people to spend their lives entirely in artificial
realities inside of computers. Even as we expand into the solar
system, for the material and energy resources available there, most
people would remain inside the artificial worlds hosted by shipboard
computers, with only a handful of workers transferring to physical
bodies for day jobs that require it.

All that said... there's nothing wrong with the romantic image of low-
density space colonies with forests, lakes, rolling hills, etc. And
someday, I'm sure we'll build them, whether they are the most
practical design or not. Wealth increases with technology, and
discretionary spending increases with wealth; people or groups will
eventually build giant orbital parks for their own personal reasons,
and logic be damned.

I myself may get into that game someday -- building huge orbital
nature preserves, as big as I can make 'em, and stocking them with as
much diverse wildlife as possible. I'd do this because I think life
is valuable, and as the only technological life in our solar system,
I see it as our duty to preserve and protect the rest of it. Others
will no doubt have their own reasons.

So... it's certainly important to try to think clearly about what the
future will hold, but it's also important to recognize that most
other people are not yet ready to face the future as it will actually
be. That's OK; they'll have plenty of time to adapt as it comes. In
the meanwhile, if painting pictures of suburban, sunny, park-like
space settlements helps the average Joe get even a glimpse of one
aspect of the future (i.e. living comfortably in space), that's a
good thing.

Best,
- Joe