Atlanta approves data center ban near Beltline and MARTA stations
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Illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios
Downtown Atlanta and the Beltline could avoid becoming a data center dystopia under new protections approved this week by the Atlanta City Council.
Why it matters: Data centers are the backbone of our digital lives and make possible every Facebook post, Amazon purchase and AI-generated high school essay — and they're being built in metro Atlanta at a record clip.
- However, the buildings employ relatively few workers and are popping up in popular Atlanta neighborhoods where space for people is at a premium.
Driving the news: Atlanta City Councilmembers Jason Dozier and Matt Westmoreland's measures prohibit the construction of new data centers within a half-mile of MARTA rail stops and along the city-changing Beltline network.
- That footprint covers prime neighborhoods like Downtown and Grove Park where communities and planners envision denser, mixed-use communities to accommodate a growing population.
The big picture: Data center construction activity in metro Atlanta increased 76% from August 2023 to August 2024, according to real estate research firm CBRE. Demand will fuel new centers and expansions thanks to growing development of energy-hungry AI.
- "If all of [metro Atlanta's] under-construction space delivered tomorrow, it would become North America's second-largest data center market, trailing only Northern Virginia," the company said.
Zoom in: The growth has made Atlanta a hotbed for the industry, but the data centers' fortress-like size and form conflict with using space for housing, parks and other active uses.
- Plus, Dozier said in a statement, they undermine the long-term investments Atlantans have made and are making in transit.
- Centennial Yards is proposing a 300,000 square-foot data center for the $5 billion development. A company also recently applied for a land disturbance permit for a proposed data center on Ellsworth Industrial Boulevard.
What's next: A spokesperson for Mayor Andre Dickens did not respond to Axios' request for comment about whether he plans to sign the measure.