Right now, this is more about searching for other life.

Considering that all our eggs are in one basket, right now, any topic of discussion in the vein of colonization is a good one, as long as it keeps people thinking in that direction, I'd say.

In the short term, their are still the intra-solar-system planets and satellites, and those are something we should push onto quickly. Once we get to those, permanent artificial platforms will arrive all the faster, if at all.