I think about this a lot actually. I was playing No Man's Sky this weekend, hoping between galaxy's and was thinking about how we aren't even on a path to making something like that possible. I think the show "For All Mankind" kind of gives us a glimpse if we (I am an American) didn't run out of ambition and had competition to build it. But since everything is/was government funded, it's all very precarious.

A lot of what is being built now is because it's what can be funded, and in turn make a profit for the funders. Here is something I'd love to see that I dont think has the ROI yet to attract the money but solar panels over parking lots. Parking lots are ugly, so who cares if you make them uglier; they aren't often shaded so little tree cover to contend with, and there is _so_ much of it around America. A step towards the future would be to get companies and cities on board with putting up solar panels over parking lots. It creates shade, harnesses energy, and puts a massive space to better use. That feels like its would be a solid step into the future. If this is proven to be successful, like I think it would be, then who knows what the next step would be.