Free Space: Envisioning the Low Earth Orbit Metropolis

This thesis posits a permanent, free space settlement and a space-based regional plan as the first step in sustainable and ethical settlement beyond Earth. The settlement paradigm explores modular and redundant construction and planning techniques that could be scaled and replicated to achieve long-range missions of exploration and long-term space settlement. A systems-based strategy within Low Earth Orbit provides the first architectural steppingstone for humans to realize themselves as a multi-planetary species. Space hosts a plethora of untapped and un-realized resources that have yet to be imagined for the betterment of life on Earth. As a result, it is imperative to plan and to think about what the consequences a permanent settlement in outer space could mean for life on Earth. In exploration, this thesis sets forth a strategy to ensure outer space and its resources are used fairly, responsibly, and justly, and access is promoted equitably, ethically, and morally to all who have a hand in a globally collaborative human agenda