Things you need for a functioning civilisation

I'm planning a space colony, with only Sim City and Settlers games to guide me.
I think I need better reading. I know urban planning is a thing actual people actually do, I should probably learn how they get started.

Things humans need: Air, water, food, waste disposal, shelter, warmth, stuff to do, ways to make more humans

Assume a new planet is terraformed to the point it has breathable air and a whole lot of trees (this being Stargate, that seems to be the case most often.)

A new colony could take a year's supply of ration packs, and clothes and tents and so forth that would last more than a year. The idea is they have a year to make enough profit to pay for a second trip through the gate with more supplies. But they also need to build the basics ready for the second wave to move into.

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It's much easier to imagine the kind of stories where a couple of groups shoot at each other until one wins the shiny to take home. Actually making the homes is pretty complex. I don't think I've seen that story so often neither, to learn from it. It'd be like Grand Designs, only hundreds of times over, and where you have to figure out the entire supply chain from the dirt on up. And feeding the labourers. And if you wanted a sick bay to treat their injuries in then you'd have to bring or build it too.

Hard. No wonder there's more Space Vampire stories.




Okay, I'll post this and get on with my Sunday.