For the purposes of this discussion let us assume the (highly unlikely) possibility that the UK will be the 1st country to build an OA-City.  Unlikely due mainly to the twin obstacles of Nimby power and building regulations which (for mostly sound reasons) basically prohibit the construction of big buildings in the countryside.   But the obstacles for a “world first” prototype are even greater because nobody has yet had the opportunity to see and “road-test” an OA-City.  Most people – perhaps 90% – probably think its a crazy idea and not only “wouldn’t want to live in one” – they wouldn’t want to see one either.  Think of Prince (now King) and his objection to “carbuncles” on his beloved City of London skyline.  Mind you, that was many years ago and there are dozens of those now – and many do indeed resemble “carbuncles”, in particular the “Scrotum” (London Mayor’s office?) on the South Bank..!

I mentioned “countryside” because where else would one find a 20-hectare building site – of which the building itself would cover 10 hectares (25 acres)..?   But the UK does have such sites, although not in the countryside, and they are called “Brownfield” sites.   For OA-Cities – if not for conventional housing developments….

BROWNFIELD sites have a number of significant advantages.

• • Since Nimbys don’t usually live near such sites, there should be little or no Nimby opposition.
  • The local planning authorities are keen to re-purpose such sites, so they will be more open to radical ideas.
  • The cost of the land is likely to be minimal, if not zero cost.
  • The risk of contamination will be lessened as few if any residents will be living near ground level.
  • The deep excavation required for such a big building will probably achieve the required de-contamination.

So there is a faint glimmer of hope that Britain will once again lead the world – as they did with the railways almost 200 years ago – into a new 3rd millennium age of 3-dimensional Oasis-Cities  

BUILD IT, AND THEY WILL PAY TO COME AND SEE IT..!