The next session of the Seminar on Digital Environmental Policies

organized by the Center for the Sociology of Innovation (CSI Mines Paris – PSL) and the Center for Internet and Society (CIS) will be held on

Wednesday, May 17, 2023 – 2pm to 4pm

by visioconference

Fanny Lopez

Laboratoire Architecture, Infrastructure Territoire (LIAT)/

École d’architecture de la ville & des territoires à Marne-la-Vallée (Éav&t Paris Est)

In the vast park of electrical and digital machines

Summary: This contribution proposes to shed light on the spatial and electrical impacts of digital infrastructure, and in particular of data centers in Europe and the United States. The electrical-digital continuum is merging into an infrastructure whose inner workingsre are hardly distinguishable, too large, too complex. Whilst digital technology goes hand in hand with a massive electrification of uses (all kinds of connected objects and digitization of services), the electrical system is increasingly dependent on digital technology to operate (maintenance, flexibility, real time control). All of this requires increasingly more infrastructure to interconnect and process the data, but also more power generation and distribution infrastructure to run it. The analysis of the digital infra-territorial connections’ architectures reveals an electrical infrastructure stretched to the limit. Understanding the digital technology through its electrical matrix involves recomposing a material intelligibility. Shedding light on this spatiality and the issues of its design and deployment places the disciplines of spatial planning in the front line.