Source: Fortune
Young people are emerging as a political force opposing data center development in their communities, with 70% of Gen Z adults rejecting facilities in their towns—a sharp contrast to how previous generations accepted infrastructure projects with minimal resistance. This reflects concrete local organizing around water usage, land use, and energy grid strain, forcing corporate and government planners to negotiate with the demographic they've been targeting as passive consumers. Data center expansion, previously treated as inevitable progress, now faces real friction from the generation with the longest stake in environmental and local outcomes.