New reporting from the Inquirer shows developers may be considering plans for a massive data center in Philadelphia’s Bellwether District. Developers won’t confirm or deny their plans, leaving our communities in the dark. Across the country, cities, small towns and rural communities are fighting back to block these polluting, energy-guzzling and profit-hungry data centers. Philly can’t wait.
Sign the petition now to tell City Council: Pledge no predatory data centers in Philly.
This city belongs to the people. From North Philly to Chinatown, Philadelphia has a proud history of defending our neighborhoods’ right to decide their own future, and every community in Philly deserves that same right.
Philly Thrive has led the fight to make sure people who live near the Bellwether District have a real say in how that land is used, and that any development brings long-term, good-paying jobs. After years of pollution from the former refinery that poisoned local communities, residents deserve development that finally meets their needs, not another project that pads the pockets of greedy billionaires.
Data centers bring serious consequences to nearby communities, all to power generative AI for powerful billionaires who steal our data, surveil Black and brown communities, and displace workers. A data center in Philly could:
- Drive up electricity and water costs while draining local resources.
- Pollute the air and harm public health, especially in low-income communities of color that are already struggling.
- Use our data to build dangerous tools that extract from and surveil Black, brown, immigrant and low-income communities.
- Enrich billionaires at our expense, creating few local jobs and funneling resources away from our real needs like education, healthcare and public transit.
We won’t let Big Tech try to quietly bulldoze our city.