Data centers should benefit the cities that power them
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- The Global Urban Data Centres Pact has been signed by more than 40 cities — including London, Chicago, Mumbai, Nairobi, Rio de Janeiro, and Abidjan — and was launched during London Climate Action Week.
- The Pact commits signatories to four stated goals: making data centers sustainable and resource-efficient, respecting local communities' needs, delivering local economic benefits, and actively investing in local communities.
- South Africa has emerged as one of Africa's leading destinations for data center investment due to its connectivity, market size, and strategic position within the regional economy.
- Tshwane, South Africa's administrative capital, is cited as a city that understands infrastructure constraints and warns African cities "cannot repeat a familiar pattern where infrastructure arrives first and cities scramble to manage the consequences later."
- The article stresses that data centers rely on physical infrastructure — electricity networks, water systems, roads, and municipal services — and notes that with nearly 60% of the world's population living in cities, municipal governments must have a say in how AI infrastructure develops.
Why it matters: The Pact gives 40+ global cities a formal mechanism to demand local economic benefits from data center investment, meaning African cities like Tshwane gain a coordinated platform to insist on being partners in AI infrastructure rather than passive hosts absorbing its costs.
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