Are Data Centers the New Landfills? Social, Economic, and Environmental Tradeoffs

• In Event: Community and Urban Sociology Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 7: City and Environment

Abstract

This research investigates the externalities in constructing data centers, weighing the economic benefits against their external burdens on communities where they are sited, with a focus on justice, equity, and the lived experience of local communities. Drawing on insights from this work, we will suggest policy and social tools to better site, deploy, and discuss how data centers are built, maintained, and shape the lives of their neighbors.

Our project seeks to answer the following research questions:
1. What are the social, environmental, and economic externalities related to the siting of data centers? How does the siting of energy-intensive data centers in Georgia impact marginalized communities economically, socially, and environmentally?
2. How do data center scorecards help local, state, and federal energy infrastructures, policies, and economic responses meet community needs in Georgia? How can these scorecards inform policy at the municipal and state levels?

These questions address the country’s “impending” energy crisis, declared as an “energy emergency” by the White House and resolved by the current administration through the massive development of data centers and AI power centers. While reactions to data center infrastructures are positive among Big Tech and federal leaders, our research aims to answer the lesser-known energy, environmental, and social effects these data centers have on the neighborhoods they are in and how these transform economic development. While our focus is on Georgia, our insights are relevant to data center development across the U.S.

We assert that codeveloping scorecards with local nonprofits and up to 20 residents in areas near data centers will help inform residents, policymakers, and other community members. In April and May of 2026, we will co-create these scorecards with Sci4GA, a local nonprofit promoting science and citizen science in Georgia, and EcoAction, a local environmental justice organization primarily on Atlanta’s West Side.

Author

• Allen Hyde, Georgia Institute of Technology