03/17/2026
Big Tech companies are rapidly expanding data centers to power AI. In many communities, that expansion is raising serious concerns.
While corporations promise jobs and economic development, communities are seeing rising electricity costs, increased pollution, risks to water, and major tax breaks for tech companies. In return, neighborhoods often see very few permanent jobs or long-term benefits.
That’s why organizers are coming together to share strategy and strengthen these fights.
Alongside People’s Tech Project we recently supported a training in Memphis with Memphis Community Against Pollution - MCAP, the primary organization leading the fight against a proposed data center in the area. The training also brought together leaders from Memphis Tenants Union and MICAH - Memphis Interfaith Coalition for Action and Hope to build shared strategy and strengthen organizing efforts.
A few weeks earlier, organizers joined a doorknocking brigade with Philly Thrive in South Philadelphia, talking with neighbors about the risks data centers pose to their communities and the kind of investment people actually want to see.
By sharing tools, strategy, and organizing experience, these moments of mobilization can grow into lasting community power.
Communities deserve investment in schools, housing, parks, and good jobs. Not infrastructure that extracts wealth and resources from the places we live!
