Political districting groups smaller geographic or administrative units, called basic units, into larger electoral districts that satisfy planning criteria. It is a design problem: solution quality matters more than immediate computation time. section 2.1.5
Evaluate districts against criteria such as:
- Population balance or equity across districts. section 2.1.5 section 8.8
- Contiguity, so units can be traveled between without leaving the district. section 2.1.5 section 8.8
- Compactness and respect for administrative or physical boundaries. section 2.1.5
- Socio-economic heterogeneity, supporting representation of residents with different concerns and views. section 2.1.5
East Toronto example
Assign 16 East Toronto neighborhoods to three electoral districts using population and adjacency data. A genetic algorithm minimizes the number of overpopulated and underpopulated districts while enforcing assignment, adjacency, and contiguity constraints. One resulting allocation places Woburn, Highland Creek, and Malvern in District 1; seven neighborhoods in District 2; and six in District 3. section 8.8
