AI data center pushback spreads to Philadelphia

National opposition to AI data center construction has reached Philadelphia, where officials floated building near a neighborhood still affected by a now-defunct oil refinery. It's part of a broader pattern of resistance to new AI infrastructure in former industrial cities.

Why it matters: Siting data centers near sites with existing environmental scars adds an environmental-justice angle to the backlash also visible in the same week's voter poll, turning local resistance into a compounding political risk rather than a simple NIMBY story.