Where is “the cloud,” anyway? It’s in a bunch of nondescript warehouses all over the country. Zachary Crockett serves up the story. SOURCES: Chris Kimm, senior vice president of global customer care and customer experience at Equinix.Raul Martynek, C.E.O. of DataBank.Clayton Rosati, associate professor of geography at Bowling Green State University. RESOURCES:"How Data Center Alley Is Changing Northern Virginia," by Mac Carey (Oxford American, 2025)."Noisy, Hungry Data Centers Are Catching Communities by Surprise," by Sean Patrick Cooper (The New York Times, 2024)."As Data Centers for AI Strain the Power Grid, Bills Rise for Everyday Customers," by Evan Halper and Caroline O'Donovan (The Washington Post, 2024)."Data Plantation: Northern Virginia and the Territorialization of Digital Civilization in 'The Internet Capital of the World'," by Clayton Rosati, Aju James, and Kathryne Metcalf (Online Media and Global Communication, 2023)."A New Front in the Water Wars: Your Internet Use," by Shannon Osaka (The Washington Post, 2023). EXTRAS:"Why Is It So Hard (and Expensive) to Build Anything in America?" by Freakonomics Radio (2023).Data Center Map. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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