Settlement Patterns - How I Think The Red Planet Would Be Won

Trebuchet · 2004-04-26 03:49:07

Let's face it, the big problem on Mars, probably up until the point where serious railroad yardage gets plunked down, is going to be transportation. But just how big a problem is transportation going to be? And how will transportation affect Mars settlement?

As far as I can see, there are - short term - two different ways that will be commonly used to get around Mars. One is familiar and prosaic, the other technologically advanced and does not even exist yet. Those would be the common as dirt truck and the hi-tech NIMF. And I think that both will lead to a largely decentralized settlement pattern, probably conforming to a powers law.

The first thing is that Mars will have three major types of settlements in its early years:

1) Scientific bases. These will be located near sites of interest for geological or possibly biological study, might be temporary, and certainly will be widely scattered all over the face of the planet. These are likely to use NIMF as their primary means of transporting frieght and people.

2) Industrial centers. These would be centralized locations processing metals, plastics, etc. They would have a nuclear power plant and all the other amenities. Likely there would only be one or two "Mars Cities" like this supplying the local needs for machined parts.

3) Farming communities. Given that you have to create, Netherlands-like, your arable land, reclaming it from the Red Planet, farmland is going to be at a premium. Building farms in the immediate vicinity of one of the town/city industrial centers is unlikely to be good due to the fact that they're likely to be slagging the soil for water and doing miscellaneous messy industrial processes in the area. Using NIMF to haul around grain is crazy in the long run - do you really want that many reactors flying through your atmosphere? - so the likely pattern would be a light rail line built to the nearest city, and delivery to this railhead via bipropellant trucks from outlying farms.

What will all this mean for Martian society? The existence of one or two industrial centers placed in the best locations - geothermal power available, etc - which will be far larger than everything else will probably foster an ego, much like New York has an ego. Residents would probably think of themselves, consciously or unconsciously, as being right at the center of humanity's grand new adventure. Earth's cities are far away; after the generation of Earth immigrants passes away, the big metropolises of Earth would be somewhat unreal to them.

Second off, there will be some number of smaller 'farm towns' which appear at the end of the rail lines from those big cities. Basically, these would be places where things are traded, not made, where schools are (or at least the teachers are, if students telecommute), and where whatever government functions for the surrounding area are held. These would very probably fall into a pattern of everone knows everyone small town life long familiar to anyone who's ever lived in such a small town. I think it's universal experience in human settlements of between 150-5000 people, where it's too large to know everyone personally but small enough to know someone who knows anyone. We could term this a Friend Of A Friend size settlement.

But last would be the farm habs themselves. There's no reason to build them right next to the railheads; anywhere within truck range will be fine. And given the sorts of people likely to settle Mars, adventurous people who are mentally capable of enduring more isolation than the norm and signed up to settle a new frontier, it's likely that small clusters of farm domes with a hab or two will be scattered at random across the landscape within that truck range. Probably each one would either be just within or just outside of visual range of the next, depending on whether the particular settler who built it liked to have a constant visual reminder of other people or whether they preferred the illusion that they were Lord Of All They Survey.

Mars being a claustrophobic place in one way and a completely agoraphobic one in another because of the combination of needing to live in pressurized environments contrasted with the vast, wide open desertlike terrain of Mars, the colonists were likely to be a pretty odd bunch psycologically after a generation or two, and I think the traits generated would reinforce the above settlement pattern. The eventual result, I think, would be a kind of clannishness and tribalism on Mars. It could take the form of extended family units, as usually happens on Earth, but it could also take other forms. An interesting possibility is that in a society which starts out with the internet, but is partially isolated from Earth's 'net by distance and the speed of light, might develop a clannishness based around computer groups or societies. With your initial blood ties probably limited to your immediate family, as I doubt entire extended families will move to Mars from today's industrialized nations, these might very well be the most consistent social contacts, and the most geographically (aerographically?) dispersed in all probability.

In any case, I highly doubt socialism, in any real form, is going to develop on Mars. There would be no particular way to force anyone to conform to it; if the people over at Chryse Planitia don't want to do it, what are you going to do, send in the Marines? For that matter, any social engineering of any kind is going to fail. Mars is too hostile, and people too scarce, for anyone to waste time on such projects.

Algol · 2004-04-26 08:37:01

But last would be the farm habs themselves. There's no reason to build them right next to the railheads; anywhere within truck range will be fine. And given the sorts of people likely to settle Mars, adventurous people who are mentally capable of enduring more isolation than the norm and signed up to settle a new frontier, it's likely that small clusters of farm domes with a hab or two will be scattered at random across the landscape within that truck range. Probably each one would either be just within or just outside of visual range of the next, depending on whether the particular settler who built it liked to have a constant visual reminder of other people or whether they preferred the illusion that they were Lord Of All They Survey.

I'd have though the farm habs would cluster together to rorm a sort of farming community. This would bring advantages in transport as the rail head would go to where the communities are. Also Farmers wold be able to support each other and be able to deal with the colonies with a common front (i.e unionise)

Ian Flint · 2004-04-26 08:44:41

Very interesting...

I'd like to add one other type of settlement - the spaceport.

Colonists will be arriving every two years. To facilitate their arrival and integration into Martian society, one or two large spaceports will be needed. They would be located near the equator. The population would be extremely transient with new immigrants staying for less than two years, clearing out ahead of the new arrivals. It would be a like a big job fair with all the employers recruiting the new immigrants. I can imagine office after office filling the corridors recruiting passersby.

What do you think?

Hazer · 2004-04-26 11:51:45

The spaceport-cities are going to likely end up being the capitals of Mars, if governments develop. I see the citizens of New Columbia(Great name for a Spaceport city) being quite proud of their city, and rightly so.

But the pride of a Martian city I think, will not necessarily lie in it's industrial capabilities. Their pride will likely be in something that we Earthlings find extremely mundane.
Can you imagine what third generation Martians would think of a multi-acre rose garden, or a water park? I imagine that Martians learning to swim would be quite funny to watch.

A Martian visiting Earth would go into shock if he saw a sight like Stratford-upon-Avon in the Springtime. If Earthlings will want genuine pieces of Mars, Martians will probably snap up any chance they get to purchase artwork from Earth. Not impressionist work, but works like those of Bierstadt.

Dook · 2004-04-26 20:15:02

I don't believe there will be any martian population, other than scientific outposts, until the atmosphere is fully formed and breathable. Why would anyone want to go there just to live in a dome? Scientists sure but a significat civilian population, no. Also the cost is too great in monetary terms (transport costs alone would be very high) and risk to life. And for what benefit? Even if they could grow and produce enough to support themselves it would be a great risk (dome failure kills all). I think mars will one day have a great human population but it's probably a thousand years in the future.

Trebuchet · 2004-04-26 23:04:10

I certainly would live there, even if I had to live in a dome, and dome failure would be nasty but not catastrophic if sensible precautions are taken. It would have to be a fairly large tear in the dome - I mean someone-drove-the-rover-through sized - to deflate rapidly enough to put you in danger in a large dome. Certainly long enough to get in your house or some shelter in the meantime. I imagine pressurized doors will be part of the Martian building code for a long time.

I believe that the spaceport cities will simply be the industrial cities of Mars I outlined in the first bit. Whatever city is closest to or on the equator will have a geographical (areographical? heh) edge on the others, but the businesses will go where the people are and the people will land where the businesses are. That cycle of reinforcement will drive things.

True, the pride of a Martian city won't be in accomplishments. Gardens and pools would be the symbols of 'big city'... but only a city with significant industrial capacity is going to have the money and population to build those on a big scale.

Heh, Central Park, New Columbia. Has a nice ring to it.

Bill White · 2004-04-27 09:01:08

Redundant systems are called for. I see larger domes for public spaces with numerous interior spaces capable of being sealed off wiht airlocks in event of emergency.

Perhaps a larger dome is erected over a set of smaller buildings that - - before the dome - - were able to sustain life in the open Martian environment.

As further redundancy, each settler wears a rudimentary counter pressure suit (high tech Spandex-like material) perhaps as underwear with a snoopy cap and face mask and 30 or 60 minutes of oxygen carried in a belt pouch.

If the dome rips and you cannot inside fast enough (or you need to help others or protect property) stick in some earplugs (that include a radio receiver) then pull the snoopy cap over your head then don an emergency face mask to cover mouth, nose and eyes and you are good to go until the 911 teams arrive in professional grade space suits.

As further redundancy, carry an inflatable air tight "sleeping bag" as an emergency shelter. Even today, North Atlantic fishermen and oil rig workers are given equipment such as http://www.offshore-technology.com/cont … html]these things - - surviving a few hours inside a collapsed dome would be far easier (IMHO) than surviving in the open water of the North Atlantic after your boat sank.

Oil rig safety gear - - designed to protect against fire and to allow underwater escape and rescue would almost seem excessive for a collapsed Martian agricultural dome.

http://www.activitymarine.com/survival.html]These suits are routinely purchased by hobbyist sailors, today. A Mars ready equivalent will not be all that expensive.

clark · 2004-04-27 09:27:27

Good suggestion Bill, but it ain't no way to live.

Graded areas based on the saftey level. Red-Blue-Green (as a suggestion). Within the Green areas, maximum redundancy exsists within the infrastructure. Basically, you're in a room inside another room inside the dome. Place children "here". Blue rooms have less redundancy in comparison to Green rooms/areas, but more redundancy than Red rooms/areas. You can have all sorts of things in this area, and it probably encompases most of any base, however, keep your emergency space suit handy. The Red rooms/areas are controlled areas with the least amount of redundancy. Basically, there's a wall seperating you from Mars and premature death. All saftey protocols are observed, and just about every square inch is monitored one way or another. Access to these areas are controlled, to prevent little hands from pushing bright shiny buttons.

Bill White · 2004-04-27 09:31:06

Good suggestion Bill, but it ain't no way to live.
Graded areas based on the saftey level. Red-Blue-Green (as a suggestion). Within the Green areas, maximum redundancy exsists within the infrastructure. Basically, you're in a room inside another room inside the dome. Place children "here". Blue rooms have less redundancy in comparison to Green rooms/areas, but more redundancy than Red rooms/areas. You can have all sorts of things in this area, and it probably encompases most of any base, however, keep your emergency space suit handy. The Red rooms/areas are controlled areas with the least amount of redundancy. Basically, there's a wall seperating you from Mars and premature death. All saftey protocols are observed, and just about every square inch is monitored one way or another. Access to these areas are controlled, to prevent little hands from pushing bright shiny buttons.

Yes, but of course.

Children in diapers (cotton for washing and re-use) are not allowed to wander outside rooms that have child-proof air-locks.

An pre-adolescent coming of age ritual could include taking tests to demonstrate the ability to follow safety protocols. One's first full dome access suit would be sort of like getting a first driver's license.

= = =

PS- My home already has spring loaded covers over all the electrical outlets. A 3 year old will die easily enough today trying to plug someting in - - just like he saw mommy or daddy do.

Maybe we just just install GFCI everywhere and be done with it. :;):

Bill White · 2004-04-27 09:36:33

Good suggestion Bill, but it ain't no way to live.

I bet there were plenty of people in Holland and England who said the exact same thing about those crazy families heading off on the Mayflower.

To each his own since what is living anyway?

= = =

For the record, I would make a lousy Mars colonist. Too moody and I like wearing shorts and flip-flops, even during Chicago winters.

clark · 2004-04-27 09:44:15

To each his own since what is living anyway?

The Martian mineral baths of Olympus.:;):

Sulfer bubbles from far below,
taking with it our daily woe,
of work, of stress, of Martian day,
makes it all worthwhile, makes us stay.

I'ld make a lousy colonist too.

Byron · 2004-04-27 10:39:33

LOL...I guess I'd make a lousy settler as well...especially since I'm a shorts and flip-flop guy too...

The constant "safety protocols" would definitely get on my nerves after a while, especially if it's been a few years (or better yet, never) since the last mishap.

Besides, I'd hate being indoors all the time, especially if I had to live underground like a danged mole. If I lived on Mars, I'd want to be where I could see the sun and sky during the day, the risks of radiation exposure and depressurization be dammed...

B

clark · 2004-04-27 10:52:04

LOL...I guess I'd make a lousy settler as well...especially since I'm a shorts and flip-flop guy too...

The Clan of the Black Toe is growing... :laugh:

Mars, where the wild things never grow.

Ian Flint · 2004-04-27 11:04:07

About the spaceport cities again...

The Spaceport cities and the Industrial cities could be one and the same, but if the necessary mineral/power concentrations are not available near the equator they would be separate cities.

The Spaceport cities would specialize in orbital activity necessitating an equatorial position, while the industrial cities would be scattered about the planet located near mineral deposits.

C M Edwards · 2004-04-27 15:33:15

Why no flower gardens in the science stations?

Scientists are people, too! All of our tests say so!

Trebuchet · 2004-04-27 16:15:07

Well, there probably would be some potted plants or something similar, but I doubt they'd bother setting up a large garden unless one of the scientists is a serious hobbyist.

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