Obtain Shape Files for Different District Types as of Nov/Dec 2021

[akhaleghi]

Overview

We need to obtain shape files for the various district types that represent stakeholders we work with. This is part of the epic issue #118

Action Items

• [x] Identify shape file sources for the following district types:
  • [x] Neighborhood Councils (NCs) | Shape Files Here
  • [x] Supervisory Districts | Shape Files Here
  • [x] Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) | Shape Files Here
  • [x] U.S. House of Representatives that serve LA | Shape Files Here
  • [x] California State Senators that serve LA | Shape Files Here
  • [x] California Assembly members that serve LA | Shape Files Here
  • [x] Zip Code | Shape Files Here
• [x] Save shape files to the data-science repo
  • [x] Neighborhood Councils (NCs)
  • [x] Supervisory Districts
  • [x] Business Improvement Districts (BIDs)
  • [x] U.S. House of Representatives that serve LA
  • [x] California State Senators that serve LA
  • [x] California Assembly members that serve LA
  • [x] Zip Code
• [ ] Develop policy for updating files
  • [ ] How often do the boundaries change for the different district types?
    • [ ] Neighborhood Councils (NCs)
    • [x] Supervisory Districts
    • [ ] Business Improvement Districts (BIDs)
    • [x] U.S. House of Representatives that serve LA
    • [x] California State Senators that serve LA
    • [x] California Assembly members that serve LA
    • [x] Zip Code
  • [ ] Can these be self-updating via APIs?

Resources/Instructions

Google Drive files here

[akhaleghi]

Notes from conversations with Ryan and Sophia: What files do we need? There are a bunch in the folder. Sophia: "so you need all the files in the folder for it to work. geopandas uses shape files or geojson, ArcGIS is the app that is shapefile specific." Best way to store files? Ryan: "If we have the space it’s better to archive them. I would make sure to include a link to the source, because sometimes they’ll update the shape files with new edits to the district boundaries, so it’s always good to check for the most recent versions if they’re available." Additional issues: Ryan: "The only limitation with GitHub would be file size or if there are any copyright protections on the files. We should make sure they’re open source licensed if we’re going to host them publicly. (probably the case for most public entities, but always good to make sure)"

So we might want to:

• Save all the files
• Add the directory to Google Drive and include a link to the files AND a link to the source URL/date files retrieved to the Resources section of the issue
• Include licensing information/copyright protections in the issue

[akhaleghi]

readme should include (example): Info Updated Data Updated Published Date Number of Records License Details

[akhaleghi]

Uploaded remaining files to Google Drive.

[natalie-lim]

(incomplete will edit later):

How often do the boundaries change for the different district types? Neighborhood Councils (NCs)

• Issue: neighborhoods/counties/etc are redistricted with the census, and since neighborhood councils are still a part of state government it would be reasonable to assume that their borders also change with the census. However, I couldn’t find anything that explicitly stated that.

Supervisory Districts

• Every 10 years after the federal census
• “Every ten years, districts must be redrawn so that each district is substantially equal in population. This process, called redistricting, is important in ensuring that each board member represents about the same number of constituents. In Contra Costa County, the Board of Supervisors is responsible for drawing supervisorial districts. Redistricting is done using U.S. Census data”
• Disclaimer: this is referring specifically to the process of creating supervisory districts in Conta Costa county, but the background information regarding how often the districts are changed should be applicable to all counties
• https://www.contracosta.ca.gov/8135/About-Redistricting

Business Improvement Districts (BIDs)

• Issue- all the articles I found mentioned that they conformed to predetermined districts, but I have no idea what those districts are
• U.S. House of Representatives that serve LA
• Every 10 years after the federal census
• “Every 10 years, after the federal census, California must redraw the boundaries of its Congressional, State Senate, State Assembly, and State Board of Equalization districts, to reflect the new population data.”
• https://wedrawthelines.ca.gov/faq/

California State Senators that Serve LA

• Every two years
• "How long is a legislative session? Each legislative session is two years"
• https://www.senate.ca.gov/faq#:~:text=Each%20legislative%20session%20is%20two%20years.

California Assembly members that serve LA

• Every 10 years after the federal census
• “Every 10 years, after the federal census, California must redraw the boundaries of its Congressional, State Senate, State Assembly, and State Board of Equalization districts, to reflect the new population data.”
• https://wedrawthelines.ca.gov/faq/

Zip Code

• Irregular- as little as possible. However, about 10-20 new ZIP codes are created every year.
• “It is typical for 10-20 new ZIP codes to be created each year - many of which are for military uses.” “Because it can take up to 5 years for people to fully utilize a ZIP, ZIP changes are minimized.” “Most of the information that changes about a ZIP code is related to the ZIP+4 (the last 4 digits after the primary 5 digit ZIP code) or the number of deliverable addresses. Neither are included in the ZIP code database so updates can be less frequent. The demographics of a ZIP can change over time so we issue frequent updates for statistics.”
• https://www.unitedstateszipcodes.org/zip-code-database/changes/

[akhaleghi]

@natalie-lim Thanks so much, this is exactly what we need. I'm going to move this over to the backlog so someone else can pick up the next task of developing a policy to update our files.

[akhaleghi]

Closing this issue, refer to #118 for next steps.