The Data Center Dilemma: Power, Growth, and Local Control

Event ID: PP1149793

Thu, Mar 12, 2026 | 7:30 PM - 8:30 PM

Venue: Salon B (Hilton Austin Downtown)

View on Official SXSW

Summary

The unprecedented demand for digital infrastructure has created a data center boom across the country. These facilities come with the promise of investment and job creation but concerns mount around the impact they make on a community and the utilization of local resources. Leaders and residents are examining whether these facilities deliver on their promise. Hear from a panel of mayors as they share firsthand perspectives on managing the expansion of data centers and how they are balancing economic growth with infrastructure capacity, resource consumption, and quality of life for residents.

Contributors

Raw Event JSON

Large nested arrays are compacted for page readability. Full payload remains in dataset files.

Open JSON payload
{
  "id": "PP1149793",
  "track": "Cities & Climate",
  "focus_area": null,
  "category": "Panel",
  "event_id": "PP1149793",
  "event_type": "panel",
  "format": "Panel",
  "genre": null,
  "subgenre": null,
  "name": "The Data Center Dilemma: Power, Growth, and Local Control",
  "presented_by": null,
  "publish_at": "2026-03-02T17:47:00.000-06:00",
  "reservable": true,
  "reservable_id": "PP1149793",
  "reserved": false,
  "date": "2026-03-12",
  "end_time": "2026-03-12T15:30:00.000-05:00",
  "start_time": "2026-03-12T14:30:00.000-05:00",
  "message": null,
  "image": null,
  "credentials": [
    {
      "name": "Platinum Badge",
      "type": "platinum"
    },
    {
      "name": "Innovation Badge",
      "type": "innovation"
    }
  ],
  "contributors": [
    {
      "id": 107266,
      "company": "City of Sunnyvale",
      "credential_types": [
        "innovation"
      ],
      "entity_id": 2279927,
      "name": "Larry Klein",
      "speaker_types": [
        "Speaker"
      ],
      "title": "Mayor",
      "image": {
        "alt_text": "Larry Klein",
        "credit": null,
        "url": "https://images.sxsw.com/D2kOYtO--Dbi-YEaFzmqvGXBedQ=/0x0:2400x2400/600x600/images.sxsw.com/48/0628dfe6-9fa0-4878-89ef-209211377e0e/pcid-1629632"
      },
      "speaker_type": "Speaker",
      "details": "Sunnyvale Mayor Larry Klein has served as Mayor of Sunnyvale, California for over 7 years. He’s served his city for over two decades, and is Sunnyvale’s first directly elected Mayor. Mayor Klein has championed community engagement, economic vitality, sustainable transportation, affordable housing, and environmental leadership. He also serves in multiple regional leadership roles, including as the current Chair of Silicon Valley Clean Energy. He brings a Computer Science degree and a background of 30+ years at multiple Bay Area technology industries, giving him a unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities facing modern cities—especially Sunnyvale, the Heart of Silicon Valley.",
      "links": {},
      "type": "person"
    },
    {
      "id": 106939,
      "company": "United States Conference of Mayors",
      "credential_types": [
        "innovation"
      ],
      "entity_id": 2279216,
      "name": "David Burns",
      "speaker_types": [
        "Speaker"
      ],
      "title": "Assistant Executive Director",
      "image": {
        "alt_text": "David Burns",
        "credit": null,
        "url": "https://images.sxsw.com/tb5fmeH30v3myKlSEjQQ2xOHRT0=/0x0:1379x1379/600x600/images.sxsw.com/48/50a70a76-1632-4075-8941-4c75c314600b/pcid-800787"
      },
      "speaker_type": "Speaker",
      "details": "David is an Assistant Executive Director at the United States Conference of Mayors. His portfolio includes technology and innovation policy, focusing on broadband, data and artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, digital services, civic engagement, among other issues. He supports a broader portfolio of work at the Conference of Mayors, including supporting the organization's leadership, meetings, and strategy. He is also a key organizer of the Conference's Civic I /O program at SXSW each year.",
      "links": {},
      "type": "person"
    },
    {
      "id": 104151,
      "company": "City of Chattanooga",
      "credential_types": [
        "innovation"
      ],
      "entity_id": 2273422,
      "name": "Tim Kelly",
      "speaker_types": [
        "Speaker"
      ],
      "title": "Mayor",
      "image": {
        "alt_text": "Tim Kelly",
        "credit": null,
        "url": "https://images.sxsw.com/UB1MrzRkWAOy6_bRsS7YFD8eX0E=/600x600/images.sxsw.com/48/89960667-887a-cb72-d555-f06c0890ce7b/pcid-1587545"
      },
      "speaker_type": "Speaker",
      "details": "Tim Kelly is the 66th mayor of Chattanooga. A fourth-generation Chattanoogan, he earned his undergraduate degree from Columbia University. Upon return to Chattanooga, Kelly expanded his family’s automotive dealership and launched several successful ventures of his own, including co-founding Chattanooga’s professional soccer club.  He later earned his MBA from Emory University. Kelly has always been active in the community, serving on boards for multiple nonprofits and even teaching as an adjunct professor at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga. Since being elected mayor in April 2021, he has made great strides on his vision to create One Chattanooga – a city where every resident has the opportunity to thrive and prosper.  ",
      "links": {},
      "type": "person"
    },
    {
      "id": 102075,
      "company": "City of Phoenix",
      "credential_types": [
        "innovation"
      ],
      "entity_id": 2269139,
      "name": "Kate Gallego",
      "speaker_types": [
        "Speaker"
      ],
      "title": "Mayor",
      "image": {
        "alt_text": "Katharine Gallego",
        "credit": null,
        "url": "https://images.sxsw.com/o0UOF2Ofh639NDgWixXnISFciXg=/600x600/images.sxsw.com/48/2a6746f2-315c-de19-3456-07aec99cf27b/pcid-1631688"
      },
      "speaker_type": "Speaker",
      "details": "As mayor, Kate spends every day focused on getting things done for Phoenix families. The results speak for themselves: Kate brought a historic $165 billion semiconductor manufacturing plant to Phoenix that’s creating thousands of great-paying career paths; she built coalitions to deliver critical improvements to parks, public safety, and city infrastructure; and she is partnering with ASU to build a brand-new medical school in downtown Phoenix. Kate is the second elected woman mayor in Phoenix history and one of the youngest big city mayors in the nation. She graduated from Harvard and holds an MBA from the Wharton School of Business. Though serving Phoenicians keeps her days busy and her heart full, her favorite job is being Michael’s mom.",
      "links": {},
      "type": "person"
    }
  ],
  "venue": {
    "accessible": false,
    "age_policy": null,
    "floor": "4",
    "id": "V0373",
    "indoor_outdoor": "INDOOR",
    "mixhalo_url": "https://translate.mixhalo.rocks/?venue_id=429&partner=true",
    "name": "Salon B",
    "parent_id": "V0365",
    "parent_venue_name": "Hilton Austin Downtown",
    "venue_entry_info": null,
    "formats": null,
    "location": {
      "address": "500 E 4th St.",
      "lat_lon": [
        30.2651364,
        -97.7381904
      ],
      "city": "Austin",
      "postal_code": "78701",
      "state": "TX",
      "name": "Hilton Austin Downtown"
    },
    "root": {
      "id": "V0365",
      "name": "Hilton Austin Downtown",
      "mixhalo_url": null
    },
    "events": "[omitted 5 venue events]"
  },
  "description": "The unprecedented demand for digital infrastructure has created a data center boom across the country. These facilities come with the promise of investment and job creation but concerns mount around the impact they make on a community and the utilization of local resources. Leaders and residents are examining whether these facilities deliver on their promise. Hear from a panel of mayors as they share firsthand perspectives on managing the expansion of data centers and how they are balancing economic growth with infrastructure capacity, resource consumption, and quality of life for residents.",
  "experience_level": "Beginner",
  "audio_url": null,
  "accessibility": [],
  "accessible_venue": false,
  "add_bcl_url": false,
  "add_slido": false,
  "after_midnight": null,
  "age_policy": null,
  "american_sign_language": false,
  "apple_url": null,
  "audio_description": false,
  "caption_url": null,
  "captioned_qa": false,
  "closed_captioned": false,
  "cpe_credit": false,
  "event_status": "none",
  "has_subtitles": false,
  "hash_tags": [],
  "high_sensory_experience": false,
  "live": false,
  "long_description": "The unprecedented demand for digital infrastructure has created a data center boom across the country. These facilities come with the promise of investment and job creation but concerns mount around the impact they make on a community and the utilization of local resources. Leaders and residents are examining whether these facilities deliver on their promise. Hear from a panel of mayors as they share firsthand perspectives on managing the expansion of data centers and how they are balancing economic growth with infrastructure capacity, resource consumption, and quality of life for residents.",
  "meeting_url": null,
  "meeting_url_live": false,
  "mentorly_url": null,
  "mobile_audio_url": null,
  "open_captioned": false,
  "playlist_tag": null,
  "rebroadcast": false,
  "recommended_ids": [],
  "search_conversions": null,
  "short_program": false,
  "slido_url": null,
  "sort": "DATA CENTER DILEMMA: POWER, GROWTH, AND LOCAL CONTROL",
  "source": "Official",
  "squad_up_url": null,
  "stream_embed": null,
  "stream_id": null,
  "stream_url": null,
  "strobe_warning": false,
  "subdiscipline": null,
  "summit": null,
  "summit_display_name": null,
  "tags": [
    {
      "id": 2576,
      "name": "Recently Added",
      "created_at": "2026-02-26T12:08:59.538-06:00",
      "updated_at": "2026-02-26T12:08:59.538-06:00",
      "sort": "RECENTLY ADDED",
      "alpha": "R"
    }
  ],
  "talent_attending": null,
  "title_only": false,
  "track_display_name": "Cities & Climate",
  "trailer_id": null,
  "trailer_url": null,
  "video_on_demand": null,
  "vimeo_id": null,
  "vod": false,
  "xr_project_type": null,
  "youtube_id": null,
  "related_events": [],
  "related_sales_client": null
}