As many of you may be aware, Micah Altman and I have developed freely
available open-source software that enables users to draw redistricting
plans through their web browsers. Details of the project and other resources
can be found at http://www.publicmapping.org <http://www.publicmapping.org/>
. We know of several academics who intend to use the software in their
teaching or research. For those familiar with R, the program interfaces with
our R module, BARD. Advocacy groups in some states, such as Virginia, are
using it to support a redistricting competition among the commonwealth's
universities and colleges. With this in mind, we thought that the
availability of this software would be of interest to you.

 

We are still developing more features, but the software has progressed to
the point where it can be configured to be used for redistricting in any
state or locality. When the census data start rolling out in the coming
weeks, we will pre-load the software with each state's population data, and
where available, election data merged to the census data. People interested
in using the software will then be able to copy a state version of the
software into their Amazon Web Services account, following the directions we
provide, and then will be ready to start drawing districts. The software is
free, but it incurs web hosting costs. A micro-sized AWS server will support
four simultaneous users, enough for a small class or personal research.
Amazon is currently providing micro-sized servers for free. Larger sized
servers that can support upwards of 50 simultaneous users run a little under
$2,000 a month. 

 

Again, as a first stop to learn more about this project, I encourage you to
visit http://www.publicmapping.org <http://www.publicmapping.org/> .

 

Best regards,

 

-Mike

 

(My apologies for the cross-postings to other list-serves.)

 

============

Dr. Michael P. McDonald

Associate Professor, George Mason University 

Non-Resident Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution

 

                             Mailing address:

(o) 703-993-4191             George Mason University

(f) 703-993-1399             Dept. of Public and International Affairs

[log in to unmask]               4400 University Drive - 3F4

http://elections.gmu.edu     Fairfax, VA 22030-4444

 


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