In a world where technology advances by leaps and bounds, the housing crisis in the West presents itself not as an insurmountable obstacle, but as an opportunity to innovate and expand beyond earthly confines.
As of mid-2025, the shortage of affordable homes remains a persistent challenge in Europe and North America. In the United Kingdom, housing prices reached historic highs in April, driven by demand that far exceeds supply, while the Labour government commits to building 1.5 million new units to ease the pressure. In European cities like Lisbon, London, and Paris, the ratio between real estate prices and incomes has made these metropolises the least affordable on the continent, exacerbating inequalities and fueling social tensions.
Similarly, in North America, young people face a "soul-crushing" struggle when trying to buy their first home, with a 20% increase in homelessness in the past year.
However, from a techno-optimist perspective, these problems are not inevitable; they are symptoms of outdated regulations that spatial innovation and deregulation can overcome. The "Build Baby Build" (BBB) movement, inspired by the book of the same name by Bryan Caplan and Ady Branzei, emerges as a beacon of hope, proposing that the liberalization of construction not only solves the shortage but also elevates global quality of life.
And if Earth is stuck in bureaucracy, Mars offers a virgin canvas to materialize this ideal: Build Martian Build.
The Spirit of Build Baby Build: Deregulation as a Catalyst for Prosperity
The BBB movement, which has gained traction in 2025, advocates for massive and unhindered construction to combat the shortage of housing, logistics centers, and data centers.
In the United Kingdom, YIMBY (Yes In My Backyard) conservatives have embraced this cause, promoting beautiful and efficient building while protecting British heritage, with plans for guides to help lawmakers advocate for more housing in their communities. In California, YIMBY has driven legislative reforms like AB 609 and SB 677, which streamline processes under CEQA and facilitate fast and affordable construction. Caplan's book, published in 2024, scientifically breaks down how state interventions—strict zoning, endless permits, and excessive environmental regulations—are the true villains behind high housing costs. Without them, it argues, individuals and companies could build freely, lowering prices and fostering creativity.
In 2025, this idea resonates in global debates, such as in Paul Krugman's article criticizing NIMBYism in proposals like Project 2025, defending BBB as a path toward abundance.
From a techno-optimist lens, this deregulation is not just economic; it's a liberator of innovation, allowing technologies like AI and robotics to transform construction into an efficient and sustainable process.
Mars: The Last Bastion of Constructive Freedom
While Earth grapples with state borders that stifle land use freedom, Mars represents an exploratory renaissance similar to the founding of the United States: a new world where private companies like SpaceX can dictate lax rules.
In May 2025, Elon Musk updated SpaceX's plans to make life multiplanetary, announcing the launch of the first uncrewed Starships to Mars in 2026 to test entries and landings. With the new version of Starship unveiled in July, the path to human colonies accelerates, potentially aligned with orbital windows that enable crewed missions in the 2030s. In this context, a deregulated Mars could embody BBB on a planetary scale. Without earthly governments imposing zoning, settlers—driven by private entities—would build affordable habitats using local resources, inverting the paradox: living on Mars could become cheaper than in San Francisco or London.
This techno-optimist vision sees Mars not as a barren hell, but as a paradise of opportunities, where technology turns challenges into advantages.
A Short Story: Aria's Dream on the Red Planet
Imagine Aria, a 28-year-old engineer from London, frustrated by exorbitant rents and endless permits to renovate her tiny apartment in 2025.
Inspired by SpaceX's advances, she joins the first wave of settlers in 2032, landing at a Martian base operated by private entities. Without earthly regulations, Aria deploys an AI-powered 3D printing drone and, using Martian regolith as material, designs her home in hours: a spacious dome with crater views, integrated with solar panels and water recycling systems. "Here, I build what I imagine," she thinks as she expands her habitat to include a hydroponic greenhouse. Soon, her community grows organically—neighbors add logistics modules and data centers—lowering collective costs to fractions of those on Earth.
Aria doesn't just survive; she thrives, founding a startup for modular habitats that exports designs back to Earth. On Mars, BBB isn't a slogan; it's the reality that unleashes her creative potential.
Non-Obvious Realities: Innovative Fusions Emerging from a Deregulated Mars
Blending BBB ideas with advancements on the internet and pure combinations, non-obvious realities emerge that amplify techno-optimism.
For example, integrating 3D printing with AI could create "autonomous habitats" on Mars: robots that not only build but evolve structures based on environmental data, using local materials as in NASA's 2015-2019 challenges or AI SpaceFactory's MARSHA project. This merges with circular space economies, where on-demand manufacturing reduces dependence on earthly shipments, fostering a "Martian economic boom" driven by blockchain for digital land ownership—imagine NFTs of Martian parcels that fund expansions without bureaucracy.
Another non-obvious layer: biotechnology mixed with deregulated construction.
"Living" habitats with genetically modified algae that generate oxygen and reinforce walls, inspired by Penn State research for sustainable homes on Mars and Earth. On the web, ideas like these intertwine with visions of "floating cities" in Martian atmospheres, using 3D-printed aerogels for buoyancy, or AI networks that optimize urban planning in real time, predicting needs based on settler patterns. Combined with deregulation, this could export innovations back: Earth adopting "Mars-tech" to build floating cities in oceans or deserts, solving global shortages.
Finally, a pure fusion: BBB + spatial metaverse, where VR simulations allow "testing" Martian constructions before building, accelerating iterations and attracting crowdfunded investment.
In conclusion, Build Martian Build is not just a dream; it's the techno-optimist future where spatial deregulation frees humanity from earthly chains. As Earth evolves toward BBB-inspired reforms, Mars reminds us that innovation—driven by visionaries like Musk and technologies like Starship—turns impossibles into realities.
Time will tell: the red planet might not only be habitable but the epitome of abundant prosperity.
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