Planning Under Preemption: State Power and Local Authority in the AI Data Center Era
Abstract
A new wave of state legislation is fundamentally reshaping American planning by reducing local authority over land use, zoning, and environmental review, particularly for artificial intelligence (AI)–related energy and data center infrastructure. Drawing on recent cases across multiple states, I examine how planning power is being rescaled through statutory overrides, utility governance, fiscal incentives, and procedural constraints. These mechanisms shift decision-making authority upward to state agencies, utilities, and corporate actors, transforming planning from deliberative practice into administrative coordination. This reconfiguration raises critical questions about democratic participation, environmental protection, and planning’s role within accelerated infrastructural capitalism.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Smart Cities and Technologies
Artificial Intelligence Applications
Ethics and Social Impacts of AI
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Journal of the American Planning Association
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Volume
- 92
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 326–332
- Publication date
- 18 February 2026
- Language
- EN