Mapping the clouds: The matter of data centres

peer reviewed ; The social spatial geographies of telecommunications and their infrastructures have long interested scholars in the social sciences, and in urban geography specifically. This paper focuses on data centers. Much effort has been placed in preserving the notion that data centers are ‘clouds’, a terminology that obfuscates the real human geographies of cyberplaces. In this map-making exercise, we visualize the sociopolitical human geographies of data centers, and provoke the reader to consider the impacts that data centers have on residents and their environments. The maps shown in... Mehr ...

Verfasser: Carr, Constance
Bast, Desmond
Madron, Karinne Lynda
Syrus, Ahmad
Dokumenttyp: journal article
Erscheinungsdatum: 2022
Verlag/Hrsg.: Taylor and Francis
Schlagwörter: Amsterdam / cyberplace / data centers / hyperscale / Luxembourg / Seattle / Social & behavioral sciences / psychology / Human geography & demography / Sciences sociales & comportementales / psychologie / Geographie humaine & démographie
Sprache: Englisch
Permalink: https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-27134054
Datenquelle: BASE; Originalkatalog
Powered By: BASE
Link(s) : https://orbilu.uni.lu/handle/10993/51846

peer reviewed ; The social spatial geographies of telecommunications and their infrastructures have long interested scholars in the social sciences, and in urban geography specifically. This paper focuses on data centers. Much effort has been placed in preserving the notion that data centers are ‘clouds’, a terminology that obfuscates the real human geographies of cyberplaces. In this map-making exercise, we visualize the sociopolitical human geographies of data centers, and provoke the reader to consider the impacts that data centers have on residents and their environments. The maps shown in this paper suggest four trends. First, hyperscale data center owners are building near large waterways, signifying a shift in location preferences. Second, data centers stress local administrations, financing, and availability of upstream resources, as hyperscale data centers step up their input needs. Third, data center development is state-led. Fourth the competition for data center industries unfolds across a multi-level governance context.