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Avani Adhikari — head of insights at GatherGov — is in good traffic this week for a conversation about mapping America's data center development pipeline, what happens when you analyze millions of hours of municipal meeting recordings, and the most controversial topics in local government. As cities hear proposals they don't fully understand and residents voice opposition to infrastructure they've never encountered before, Avani's work sits at the intersection of technology, and civic engagement.
Avani walks through how GatherGov listens to and analyzes meetings from over 7,800 jurisdictions to extract entitlements data and assess development risk. She explains the sharp uptick in data center construction spending since 2022 — a timeline that directly correlates with ChatGPT and large language models — and breaks down why these projects spark such intense community opposition despite their often-invisible presence. From water usage concerns to property value fears to fundamental questions about who benefits from AI infrastructure, the conversation explores how communication gaps between tech companies and residents create friction that could be avoided. She also discusses why the Northeast consistently shows up as the most civically engaged region in her data, the challenge of making complex information accessible, and what it means to be a tech optimist working on projects that generate genuine controversy.
Timeline:
00:00 Avani Adhikari and GatherGov.
02:47 Mapping the development pipeline of America.
04:36 Entitlements data as early project signals.
05:14 Analyzing 7800+ jurisdictions' public meetings.
05:51 Extracting patterns from millions of hours of recordings.
06:43 Data centers as a recent fascination.
07:31 Nuclear energy as another controversial asset class.
08:23 How often these topics show up in council meetings.
09:14 Monthly construction spending jumped in 2022.
10:16 ChatGPT and data center discourse correlation.
11:33 Community opposition to data centers.
12:43 Water usage and environmental concerns.
16:54 Property value fears and NIMBY dynamics.
21:10 Communication gaps between tech companies and residents.
25:31 Why transparency matters more than people think.
28:27 The tech optimist perspective on controversial projects.
31:15 Who benefits from AI infrastructure?
34:12 Making complex data accessible through storytelling.
37:00 Personal interest in civic tech applications.
40:15 The most civically engaged regions in America.
43:03 Northeast towns showing up constantly in the data.
46:33 Small New England towns and per capita engagement.
49:21 Where to follow GatherGov's work.
52:24 Newsletter and LinkedIn posts.
55:12 Upcoming white paper on data centers.
56:01 The commute question.
58:04 Living in Tokyo as a teenager.
59:35 Hour-long train commute to school.
1:00:25 Reading books and buying snacks on the way.
1:01:23 Wrapping up.
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