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- Working class communities are rallying against data centers
- They are opposing projects at significantly higher rates than wealthy neighborhoods
- Projects that see local opposition are six times more likely to cancel
A new analysis of the anti-data center movement has found that working class communities are opposing such projects at a rate five times higher than their wealthy counterparts.
Brian Merchant, author of the Blood In The Machine newsletter, has pulled together data across numerous polls and first-hand reporting and, with the help of contributions from researcher Geoff Holtzman, found that the American working class is the primary driver of data center opposition.
The analysis directly opposes other arguments made which suggest the movement is led by environmentalists or property owners who don’t want their views spoiled (also known as Not In My Backyard-ers, or NIMBYs), and likely wasn’t started as a Chinese influence campaign as some Republicans are arguing.
Working class communities rally against data centers
In his contributed analysis, Holtzman states, “The highest rate of resistance comes from neighborhoods with a median income of between $8,000 and $72,000. The lowest rate of resistance is in neighborhoods where the average household makes between $133k and $250k per year.”
The analysis further shows that in working class areas where proposed data centers encountered local resistance, almost one third of projects were cancelled or delayed compared to just over 5% of projects in areas with no notable pushback.
What these findings show is that the neighborhoods that fight back are actually achieving meaningful change.
As Holtzman explains, “The odds of cancellation are six times higher in neighborhoods that fight than in neighborhoods that don’t. Increased cancellation in low-income areas is fully explained by high rates of pushback in these neighborhoods, so continued proposals in these areas may stoke outrage, drive resistance, and increase cancellation rates.”
Where are data centers being built?
According to research published by the Rice Business school, there are two main factors that go into determining the location of hyperscale data centers: access to energy infrastructure, and access to low-cost real estate.
The areas most likely to provide such amenities are working class neighborhoods where land costs are low, and building the infrastructure to supply energy to a datacenter will be cheap and (usually) face less opposition.
Additionally, the incomes of these neighborhoods match the incomes provided by jobs that AI is most likely to replace, such as clerical roles and administrative work, which could be another factor as to why opposition in these neighborhoods is so high.
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