19119_Authority_April_2026

municipalauthorities.org │ 21 M ap S hows G rowing N umber of D ata C enters P lanned A cross P ennsylvania By Hannah Frances Johansson of Pittsburgh Media Partnership Newsroom December 31, 2025 Emilia Doda didn’t set out to map the data center boom. But after reading about a data center proposed across from her childhood home near Scranton, she decided to build a public map (padatacenterproposals.com/state/pennsylvania) showing where data centers are planned in Pennsylvania — a tool for residents to learn more. Now, she hopes to make the tool open-sourced so others can replicate it across the country. “I thought it was so valuable that people, just general communities, had this information,” said Doda, who now lives in Silicon Valley. She had questions about the data centers coming to Pennsylvania and wanted to create a clearinghouse for the information she gathered. A data center is a warehouse-like building filled with computers that store and process massive amounts of digital information, supporting services such as cloud storage, streaming, and artificial intelligence. Doda, a graduate of the University of Southern California in physics/computer science, began the project while living in Silicon Valley. She’s continued updating it while looking for a job in the tech industry and working on video game programming, photography, and freelance website development. Anthony Pipa, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said tools such as a citizen-driven map help people better understand what is happening in their communities. The way Pipa sees it, more information “empowers local people to be part of this decision-making process.” Since launching the map in August, Doda has received questions and tips. She has also attracted attention on social media and news outlets.