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Need a primer on data centers? Our zine's got you covered

WUNC News | By Eli Chen

Published April 14, 2026 at 3:45 PM EDT

As a part of our "Hyperscale Hyperspeed" reporting series on data centers, WUNC produced a zine to serve as a community resource on the topic.

Data centers have become a hot button issue lately. With each project that gets proposed, there are many environmental and socioeconomic implications to consider.

We've produced a zine to help serve as a guide for understanding what data centers are, the trade-offs that come with development, and a starter list of questions folks can ask if one is proposed in your community.

This zine is best printed on 11" x 17" paper.

Download Your Community's Guide to Data Centers zine here.

The front and back cover of Your Community's Guide to Data Centers, which shows a bright illustration of a residential neighborhood next to a data center. Illustrations and text by Eli Chen, edited by Elizabeth Baier, Celeste Guajardo, Katie Myers, Zachary Turner and Adam Wagner. Features logos from WUNC, WFAE, and Blue Ridge Public Radio, plus a QR code that links to the website for the data centers reporting project.

These are the second and third pages of the zine, explaining what data centers are, the impact they have on communities and the expected growth they could have, why they are controversial and where are they built.

These pages explain the trade-offs of data center development, with potential benefits on the left side and potential costs on the other. Potential benefits include tax revenue, support for community programs and funding renewable energy infrastructure and upgrades to the electrical grid. Costs could include increased utility bills, strained water supplies, worsened air quality and increases to real estate prices.

Here are the final pages of the data centers zine, which includes a starter list of questions people can ask about a data center development and a description of what a community benefits agreement is under an illustration of a public meeting.