Why not tackle building a town of sorts in the teleport pad area? Sure, it's a desert, but that just means that we can put special "restrictions" on building styles and features that will make the place unique.
For example, in the desert, angled/slanted roofs are nonsensical - it never snows and rarely rains, so there's no need to drain weight off the roof. So all the buildings can have flat roofs with low parapets/walls around them and stair/ladder access.
Another idea would be waterways. Every town needs water, but in the desert, I can imagine a raised canal / water transport conduit, leading to all the locales that need it.
Palm trees would be neat to have, too - heck, instead of a well, make the center of the town a full-blown oasis.
Anyway, those are my ideas.
EDIT: Granted, that desert is just plain silly. It's tiny, for starters, and it has an ocean & swamp bordering the east and a swamp to the west. Only the grasslands to the north and south make any sort of sense.
