The weird part is that everyone keeps calling it public infrastructure, but if the primary beneficiary is a handful of private AI companies, that argument starts looking pretty thin. Reliable grids benefit everyone. Dedicated power corridors for hyperscalers are a much harder sell, especially when locals bear the costs.
this post was submitted on 26 Jul 2026
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I would use eminent domain to take away the land from data centers and make public parks. I can easily make a case for public parks.
Do it
You guys have land?
Absolutely disgusting. Not that they didn't use this as pure racism during the expansions of major interstates through major cities. It's not new. It's just disgusting when it happens.
Let's not forget some parks either!
Eminent domain can be used for a lot of things.
Why can’t we do that for high speed rail instead?
What are you? A socialist!?
We do. In Seattle at least, it's been used for expanding public transit light rail. The problem is that you still have to pay people for their land that you're taking away - and in a city like Seattle that gets very expensive very quickly. And that's not even accounting for the political cost.
However, if you're in a part of the country with cheap land, then it's less prohibitive to use.
Because usually in those cases the land belongs to those with means. In this case it'll be those who can't fight back effectively (cause our legal system is designed to favor the wealthy).