IF - that's the BIG IF, by the way - we manage to actually start mining asteroids in space, a logical leap would be to use the asteroids themselves as bases. Consider Ida, below. You could use Ida as the base, and mine Dactyl. Why not? You're already digging, you've got raw materials, water, air, energy, and perhaps most importantly of all, the interior of an asteroid would provide perfect shielding against radiation - something we have little hope of stopping with our current or even near technology.
It would start small, of course, with the space miners themselves living in some burrowed out cave, but with time, and effort, and the fabulous gazillions of dollars space mining will create, things will get bigger.
And groovier.
Check out future space plow, and the old asteroid fishing hole. But bigger still - really, the scale would only be limited by available asteroids. And not just for habitats, but for space ships:
And why not? Once you're in space, mass doesn't matter so much, and there's no aerodynamics to worry about. Thus:
To the future!
.jpg "Asteroid port")
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