Cities in space - Singles or clusters?

On 8/26/06, Darren wrote:
(...)
> What if (given a cheap way to get to orbit and the use of space resources)
> we take a large, strong, double walled plastic balloon, fill it with air
> and
> pump water into the double wall, then freeze the water and cover with
> reflective cover to stop it melting. Before inflating the balloon you put
> all the raw materials in it and then inflate. You now have a large working
> space where you can work without spacesuit, a shirtsleeve environment that
> would make building much easier, the water would stop small impacts and if
> it was a few metres thick it would stop radiation, in fact I wonder if a
> rock large enough to make it all the way through would produce enough heat
> by friction to melt the ice and the freeze it shut behind it? Interesting
> question. I think that not just habitats could be built in this kind of
> structure, large non-rotating shells filled with air would make very good
> factories for any large scale building and on a smaller scale would be good
> for normal factories and if you need a bit of gravity a track around the
> centre with a train could give you that.
(...)

Essentially you are proposing building something like the shell of a
zero-g habitat, Marshall Savage-style, to enclose the construction.
And my first impression is that it is an excellent idea!