Houston, Texas, the first mega dome city - a good idea?

Thanks john99, a voice of reason in an increasingly chaotic world.

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Well you all have brought up some good points however most would be a non concern, if they did this there would obviously be a ban on internal combustion engines inside the dome all emissions would have to be eliminated via venting them outside the dome. And if it is constructed properly the costs of actually cooling it would be marginal. I believe the Hong Kong airport has a ventilation system that uses convection currents in the air to keep the place cool that are supplemented with ac units. the Idea is not a bad one but it would be a fire hazard at the very least if not constructed with fire in mind. Just my 2 cents. And as far as me wanting to live there I think I would rather take my chances outside the dome as there are far worse things to worry about inside like the spread of infectious disease's.

 

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M*W: Having lived through Carla, Tropical Storm Allison, Rita and Ike, 45 miles inland is too close sometimes.

 

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Your direct experience of these storms is appreciated. Could you elaborate on the type of damage you saw, and how fast the winds were in your area?

Thanks!

 

I also saw the documentary and kept asking myself if it had been originally broadcast on April 1.

 

You mean like a domed city center shopping area? That might be kind of cool to visit. But, we're not going to live in domes. No way.....

 

Domes have doors - maybe we could put the lock on the outside. That might be worth the outlay.

This idea was floating around years ago, for Minneapolis. Apparently it can be done - could have been done in the '80s, even.

 

A stupid idea that will never happen.

Nobody in Houston is quaking about hurricanes. And this idea is just science fiction masquerading as science fact.

 

What if the number and intensity of hurricanes increased in the next three years or so though? I bet it would get the go ahead then.

 

There is no way in hell anyone would take shelter in this thing during a hurricane. They would have to flee from the danger of falling debris.

Do you think no one in Houston wants to see the sky?

 

I bet it wouldn't.

But I'm not going to deal with hypothetical, which is all this stupid Discovery Channel thing is (and all the network tends to do these days). Throw out an idea that will attract ratings and then back it up with speculative science.

But hey, I will be in Houston on Monday, if you like I can ask people about a "dome" over their heads . . .

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The good part of it is the gases can be trapped, isolated and used for other purposes. Even methane gas, from peoples expulsions, can be utilized.

 

No, no, no. All these statements are categorically wrong! The polymer sheets are thinner than paper and would float to the ground like a feather. The Eden project domes are self-cleaning due to the teflon-like material and hasn't been cleaned since it was opened, 8 years ago!

 

I can't believe some people actually voted "yes" for this topic.

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Some replys in this thread already explain why this is a stupid idea.
No doubt the companies that manufacture the material for this dome probably had some input into this hype.

 

Apparently the things would be essentially invisible from most of the covered area - transparent, and a long way away, on a clear blue day or night you could not easily tell you were under one.

So they claimed, for the Minneapolis dome.

 

The only thing that is categorically wrong is the notion of this dome in the first place. For one thing, this is not a dome over Houston; it is a dome over 1/800[sup]th[/sup] Houston. For another, there's the minor issue of cost. Did the Discovery Channel address that minor issue? No. Cost is one of the first issues that real engineers confront.

The Astrodome in Houston cost $35 million to construct in 1966 dollars and was about 1/27[sup]th[/sup] the size of this Houston Dome. Scaling linearly for size (a bad assumption) and accounting for inflation, that would mean a cost of $5 billion in 2009 dollars. The Millenium Dome in the UK cost £879 million to construct in 1999 pounds and was about 1/10[sup]th[/sup] the size of this Houston Dome. Scaling linearly for size and accounting for 1999 pounds versus 2009 dollars would mean a cost of $12 billion. Scaling linearly for size is a bad idea. This Houston Dome will require special construction techniques. I would guess this thing would cost upwards of $20 billion.

 

It's a bad idea, all-around, and totally unnecessary. I live in Houston myself, and we don't get earthquakes or any such seismic activity. We do get hurricanes from time to time, but I the two most recent ones (Ike and Rita) didn't really "devastate" the city. Most days it's sunshine or some rain.

MacGyver, I've yet to see a single tornado. Are you sure you're talking about Houston?

 

Houston technically isn't in "Tornado Alley" like Dallas is. Most of the tornadoes are weak F1s. However there was an F4 tornado in 1994. (correction 1992)

During Ike and Rita, wasn't most of the damage in Houston caused by floods, and downed tree limbs knocking out power? I remember you were without power there for a while.

 

Tornados in Houston, 1950-2009: http://www.weather.com/outlook/weat...rticles/tornadoes-by-month-houston_2010-03-25

 

Yup, but that isn't "devastation" like Katrina caused in Louisiana. It sucked, but I managed. That's what I'm saying.


Galveston probably needs something like this more than Houston.