Saffron, a casualty of data center development

A wonderful and precious gift from Tu Nube Seca Mi Rio (photo: Carr 2024)

 

Last week in Cambridge, at the Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy, I met some inspiring activists from Spain who are fighting data centre constructions. They, from the organization Tu Nube Seca Mi Rio (Your Cloud is Drying up my River), presented everyone at the event with this precious gift of saffron from the Albacete region, one of the victims--casualties--of the data centre development that is planned for the area. Spain is, of course, famous for its saffron, and it is incredible to think that one day it could be a spice of the past.

It seems also incredible that thirsty data centers would be built in the arid fields of Spain where there is a long history of water politics. But as these activists explained: To Spanish authorities, Spain is such an awesome place for business development, that they see absolutely no reason why a lack of water would be a barrier to data center development; Spain c/should even become the new Virginia(!) (currently known by some as the data center capital of the world). This kind of confident cognitive dissonance is frustrating to those interested in an actual conversation and debate. Knowing what we know about narrative/hype versus delay/failure/competition in the industry, I also wonder what else is going on.

 

--Constance Carr

Invited talk at the Minderoo Centre for Technology & Democracy, University of Cambridge

"Bringing sounds of yesterday into my city room," Pink Floyd, Grantchester Meadows
(Photo: Carr 2024)

Last week, I had the great pleasure speaking at the Minderoo Centre for Technology & Democracy, University of Cambridge on issues of democratic participation and the social spatial distribution of data centers in metropolitan regions under growth pressure. A huge thanks to Dr. Julia Rone, Tom Lacey, Christine Adams, and Dr. Ann Kristin Glenster for the wonderful invitation, and for organizing such an engaging event.

Focussing on the Metropolitan Areas of Seattle and Washington, my main contribution was showing some of the spatial logics behind data center expansion and describing some of the sociological problems that result. It was an honour to be the only urban geographer in the room!

The main messages I wanted to deliver were:

• Data centers are urban infrastructures, clustering in or around metropolitan regions where they build upon existing digital infrastructures (cables, pipes, roads), and can make use of local labour, markets and politics.
• The uneven spatial distribution of data centers can invoke inter-jurisdictional competition for tax revenue, (in addition to competition over water, power, and land resources that data centers require).
• Data centers can encroach on communities devaluing properties, and causing the flight of residents with higher incomes
• Protest movements can be mischaracterized by media (as, for example, a white middle class NIMBYist movement)
• The data center industry shops around for different offers in regulation.
• The scale of the problem is unknown because the input needs of many data centers are not publicly available, and pressure is increasing as demand rises

Listening to others throughout the event, several further issues surfaced:

• Awareness campaigns are needed. It is clear that most people who are confronted with data center development in their neighbourhoods are taken rather unawares about what data centers are, what their functions are, what resources they need, how these might need to be maintained over time, the costs that will be incurred, and who is behind them. They are then confronted with a steep learning curve that must then be communicated (which takes time) to the wider public. In this respect, data industry leaders profit from the lack of transparency and missing regulatory frameworks.
• Protest groups that react to data center developments have (until this event) largely operated in isolation. Enhancing networking opportunities and facilitating knowledge exchange would significantly boost awareness and informed decision-making.
• A moratorium? Clearly, data centers fulfil a purpose in helping the emergence of important new technologies. However, a temporary halt on data center development could generate the needed time for communities to make necessary assessments in order to arrive at founded and informed decisions.

 --Constance Carr

INURA Málaga and the touristification of the city -- It includes Google

 

Google offices on the Malaga waterfront. Can you spot the G for Google? (Photo: Carr 2024)

 

 

The 2024 conference of the International Network of Urban Research and Action (INURA) took place this year in Málaga, Spain. Like every INURA conference, the city part was also followed by the INURA Retreat, which took place this year in the desert of Archidona.

A key objective of this year’s city conference was to expose participants to how cities like Malaga build dependencies on mass tourism. In some ways, this kind of urban development reminds me of other cities like Venice or Florence--cities that depend on the arrival of thousands of tourists into the city. They appeal to temporary tourists, visiting the city for just a few hours as their cruise ships dock and allow them to go souvenir shopping and consume a little bit of culture. They also attract overnight tourists that support the hotel industry and the Airbnbification of the historic downtown.

For Málaga, this has meant the renewal of the waterfront and the building of museums, as well as the promotion of strange stories about Picasso, which can be sold back to tourists. In this way, Málaga also reminds me of cities like Salzburg, which have built a dependency on popular narratives of Mozart.

It is clear that these cities make a conscious policy decision to boost the tourist industry. One Málaga resident explained that in some ways this was necessary. As Málaga is in the periphery of Spain and has no other industry, tourism was a logical choice. Another explained that tourism itself wasn't the problem, rather that many residents had little voice in the organization of the industry, while the Spanish authorities were lethargic in redistributing the wealth generated from it. This situation thus leaves a wide gulf between those who can profit, and those who left out.

There are definitely further downsides. For residents in Malaga, boosting the tourist industry has meant a housing squeeze, as downtown apartments are now almost wholly turned into Airbnbs. Additionally, it manifests as a water crisis, as water is reserved for avocado farms and businesses catering to tourists. Meanwhile, one looks around and sees riverbeds that are completely dried up and full of plants, or agricultural fields that are growing cactus crops. There were also reports of water being shut off between 10:00 PM and 6:00 AM for certain parts of the city. This reminds me of Swyngedouw's work , “Liquid Power” on water politics in Spain.

Obviously, these topics are not directly central to DIGI-GOV. However, I did manage to find a Google headquarters on the waterfront. During one tour of the waterfront, I was informed that these lands are not managed by municipal authorities.

At the Retreat Katja Schwaller, Stanford University, and I held a nice panel looking at Big Tech and urban development. For Katja, big tech appropriates participatory urbanism and claims to build cities and offices "for people“ while it clearly does not. For my part, I talked about some of the processes of vertical integration of Amazon.com in both Seattle and Washington DC where Amazon.com has, or is building, its headquarter. 

--Constance Carr