Data centers’ neighbors weigh in on how to manage them

The people of northern Virginia have been living with data centers for many years. But even they are resisting new developments. And they have specific wishes for how to regulate them.

By: Fengxiu Zhang, George Mason University and Saba Siddiki, Syracuse University, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: September 25, 2026

Words: 1,143

Last Updated: 3 weeks, 2 days ago

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By Fengxiu Zhang, George Mason University and Saba Siddiki, Syracuse University

The people of northern Virginia have been living with data centers for many years. The area is home to the world’s largest concentration of data centers. In a survey we conducted, we found northern Virginians support development restrictions that could make data centers more transparent and accountable to the public. But they care about some types of regulations more than others.

As …

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