Protect Philly from Predatory Data Centers
Philadelphia City Council
A massive data center could be moving into our city.
Tech billionaires are searching the country for places to build data centers to power their AI empires—and Philadelphia is in their crosshairs.
Developers won’t confirm or deny plans for a massive data center in the Bellwether District, but we're on alert. This summer, the City Planning Commission quietly held its first public briefing on data centers, signaling that city officials are beginning to consider how these projects could come to Philadelphia.
Data centers are monstrous industrial facilities. But right now, Philly has no rules governing where data centers can be built or how communities should be protected.
- Data centers target Black, brown, and poor neighborhoods
- One data center increases our energy bills by hundreds each year
- By 2030, data centers could cause 600,000 new asthma cases
- One data center can use as much water as a small town
- Data centers power surveillance and generative AI
The city shouldn't rush into decisions with consequences this big, or make the call without the knowledge and input of the people who live in the neighborhoods most impacted.
Before any new data centers are built, we need a real public process, clear protections, and a plan to safeguard Philly's health, affordability, and quality of life.
Sign the petition and tell City Council to press pause and put a moratorium on data centers until we know their full impact and have guardrails in place to protect the people.
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To:
Philadelphia City Council
From:
[Your Name]
Philadelphia has a proud history of fighting for our neighborhoods and making sure the people who live here have a say in the future of our city. I urge City Council to uphold that tradition by protecting Philadelphia from Big Tech's push to bring massive data centers here.
Data centers are monstrous industrial facilities that power generative AI, target Black and brown neighborhoods, drive up electric bills, waste water, and pollute the air while creating few permanent jobs. But right now, the city has no rules governing where data centers can be built or how communities should be protected.
I am calling on City Council to press pause and put a moratorium on data centers until we know their full impact and have guardrails in place to protect the people.
The city shouldn't rush into decisions with consequences this big, or make them without the knowledge, consent, and meaningful input of the people in the neighborhoods that will be most impacted.
Before any new data centers are built, we need a real public process, clear protections, and a plan to safeguard Philly's health, affordability, and quality of life.
Nothing about our neighborhoods without our neighborhoods.