TRACYFISH

EXPENDED LAND: TAHOE-RENO INDUSTRIAL CENTER

Out of sight in Northern Nevada's rocky desert is a substantial industrial center that most don’t realize is even there. Yet, this expansive 107,000 acres within the arid Great Basin in Storey County, Nevada, is advertised as the world's largest industrial park. The Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center (TRIC) is unique because it lacks local regulations, contributing to an expedited and pre-approved permitting process that exceeds any commercial development in the United States. Tucked behind a heavily trafficked interstate, a cluster of native Fremont cottonwood trees, and the only freshwater source of the region (the Truckee River), is the access road leading to this fast-growing industrial area with a rich history and uncertain urban future that directly impacts regional and global economies.

“TRIC” was developed on historically Indigenous land that was overcome by the mining boom of the American West and funded in part by a history of exploitation of women at the World-Famous Mustang Ranch, still located on this property. Situated just east of California’s eastern border, its more recent inclusion in the Silicon Valley megaregion allows for the integration of high-tech industrialization. While some might see this sparse region ripe for development, these new buildings and fence lines fragment regional habitats and wildlife. From its former agricultural lands, brothels, and mining to becoming the site of a global technopole, it now contains more than 150 factories, warehouses, fulfillment, and data centers, including Google, Tesla Inc., Panasonic, Walmart, Blockchains, and Switch data center, and still expanding. Through macro and micro views, Expended Land: Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center looks at this rapidly changing landscape that often prioritizes capitalist production over environmental and public concerns while raising questions regarding governance and sustainable growth. The result is imposing and monumental architecture often catering to those with power and privilege.

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This project is part of place-based interdisciplinary field research with Scott Hinton, MFA (Photographer and Researcher), Kerry Rohrmeier, Ph.D. (Urban Geography), and Jan English-Lueck, Ph.D. (Cultural Anthropology).

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Land Acknowledgment:

Storey County, Nevada, and Washoe County, Nevada, are on the ancestral lands of the Numu (Northern Paiute), Nuwu (Southern Paiute), Newe (Western Shoshone), and the Wašiw (Washoe) Peoples. These lands remain a gathering place for Indigenous peoples, and we recognize their deep connections to this geography. We extend our appreciation for the opportunity to live and learn on their territory.