Data Centers Are Trying to Cozy Up to Towns—and Everything Else You Need to Know About This Week
AI garbage truck cameras are policing home violations in Dallas, Trump and Mamdani’s plan to create more housing in Queens, and more.
AI garbage truck cameras are policing home violations in Dallas, Trump and Mamdani’s plan to create more housing in Queens, and more.
- As communities push back against environmental pollution, higher bills, and other negative impacts of data centers, the companies behind them are opening their doors and making a more "public case" for new projects and the tax incentives that come with them. In Virginia, Digital Realty’s server showroom gives officials, residents, and students a rare look inside what data centers actually do in hopes of winning back trust. (Bloomberg)
Actor Christian Bale opened a nonprofit foster care village in Palmdale, California, designed to keep siblings under the same roof. Together California’s six town houses, which can accommodate up to 72 children and their caregivers, share a courtyard, playground, and community center. (The New York Times)
An Oakland couple turned seven homes into Radish, a communal living compound where up to 20 adults shared meals, childcare, and everyday life. The compound was built around the belief that people are happiest living near those they care about, and includes a shared space called "the Blueberry" and a nightly "baby happy hour." After eight years, the $3.95 million property is up for sale. (The New York Times)
The Gaetano Pesce Foundation in NYC will safeguard the late Italian designer’s archive while supporting exhibitions, research, partnerships, and authorized editions of his work. Here’s how it plans to carry his experimental practice forward. (Design Boom)
Mayor Zohran Mamdani and President Donald Trump spoke to the press outside Gracie Mansion after agreeing to advance a plan on building 12,000 homes in Queens.
Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP via Getty Images
Donald Trump and Zohran Mamdani just agreed to advance talks on building 12,000 homes above western Queens’s Sunnyside Yard rail tracks, though the project has no funding or timeline yet. Local leaders are skeptical of any real movement, though, and Trump’s architectural track record isn’t inspiring much confidence. (Gothamist)
Dallas has put AI cameras on garbage trucks to spot possible code violations, flagging more than 21,000 properties. Here’s why critics worry the system could hit lower and fixed-income homeowners hardest—and call it a "money grab." (The Drive)
Top photo by Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP via Getty Images
