2026-07-11 –, Solidarity Station
What are community data centers? And are you already in one? In this session we learn about four archetypes of community data centers: (1) civic public infrastructure, (2) community commons, (3) distributed networks, and (4) symbiotic infrastructure. We then collect examples of existing community data centers in the dWeb ecosystem with a focus on understanding their needs and how to collectively address them.
The use of modern digital technologies relies on accessing data or software stored on external servers housed in data centers. The share of global data center ownership held by big tech is growing rapidly; by 2030, over 60% of total capacity is likely to be owned by large hyperscaler companies.
To counter this oligopoly of (compute) power, this workshop aims to introduce and strengthen community data centers. It begins with a presentation that introduces the concept of community data centers and four different archetypes thereof, identified through an ongoing participatory research initiative. In the second half of this workshop we gather in smaller groups to map the community data centers that exist within the dWeb ecosystem and share knowledge about their needs.
The outcomes of this workshop will be a mapping of existing community data centers, a better understanding of their recurring needs and hopefully some actionable ideas on how we can collectively address them.
Tara is a postdoc at CERSA/CNRS, Paris, an ICDE research fellow at The New School and associate researcher at the Weizenbaum Institute in Berlin. Her research focuses on exit to community, decentralized governance, and exploring alternative ownership structures for data centers.