JASPER COUNTY AND BUNA, TEXAS: PREPARING FOR TECHNOLOGY-DRIVEN DEVELOPMENT
Over the past eighteen months, a structural shift has accelerated across rural Texas. Operators of artificial intelligence infrastructure, data processing facilities, and computing centers are moving away from traditional urban centers and established tech corridors. They are targeting rural communities for a specific reason: land, electricity, water, and fiber backbone proximity are converging in places that urban expansion has bypassed.
The Case for Edge-Scale AI Infrastructure in Rural East Texas
Rural East Texas is uniquely positioned to host these centers. This paper outlines why building a network of community-anchored edge AI data centers offers a more resilient, affordable, and inclusive strategy than relying solely on massive hyperscale complexes concentrated in urban zones.