Factories of the past are turning into the data centers of the future

As certain industries and regions decline, some of the infrastructures retains its value

We live in a data-driven world. From social media to smart cities to the internet of things, we now generate huge volumes of information about nearly every detail of life. This has revolutionised everything from business to government to the pursuit of romance.

We tend to focus our attention on what is new about the era of big data. But our digital present is in fact deeply connected to our industrial past.

In Chicago, where I teach and do research, I’ve been looking at the transformation of the city’s industrial building stock to