Community-Centric Approaches To The Development Of Data Centers

As the rapid construction of data centers continues to generate backlash from local communities, environmental and human rights issues underpinning sustainable corporate practices are coming to the fore. Grassroots resistance is springing from rational fears – namely, that technology companies will benefit while communities bear the burden of higher energy costs, water scarcity, air pollution, noise.

Some data center projects have been accompanied by generous community subsidies and payments from tech companies spearheading their construction. Communities, however, are demanding more than just a payout. As the Fourth Industrial Revolution unfolds at breakneck speed, activist groups want to shape the design of the same digital technologies on which communities are becoming increasingly reliant – with many having absorbed the brunt of past industrial revolutions and their ensuing impacts. Beyond financial and other material benefits, communities want safeguards in place to insulate