Why haven't we built city-grade domes to protect and control the environment?

I'm not sure if you guys are familiar with Michio Kaku, but he's a renowned physicist who has often talked about humanity's role in the future. He mentions some valuable words about how we are still a Type-Zero civilization who has not even "conquered the Earth" - and still suffer great losses from natural "disasters" (as we call them), our transportation is often halted by weather (snow + tires, boats + waves etc.).

If we had sustainable domes, could we not control the infrastructure inside the dome? Cities like Boston / New York could greatly benefit from blocking out snow/rain etc.

What's stopping us from building a glass cage? Controlling the air quality. Wouldn't it also be great progress towards creating a modular environment to use on Mars or something?

PSA: I'm just a techie-leaning entrepreneur, and I'm curious what expert opinion is on this matter.

EDIT: I'm highly interested in discussing the benefits of a dome, and I welcome discussion regarding a future that might benefit from opening up this space.

EDIT #2: Since this question got quite popular; cost aside, a little (or large) follow up question: would investing in this type of technology be beneficial in the coming decades when we do inevitably begin to explore other planets, as Elon Musk and many others are beginning to dedicate their careers / lives towards. Establishing a self-sufficient, modular environment could surely be of great benefit for exploration sake, could it not? What are the alternatives?

posted about 9 years ago

jdero‭

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