Redistricting Using Heuristic-Based Polygonal Clustering

— Redistricting is the process of dividing a geographic area into districts or zones. This process has been considered in the past as a problem that is computationally too complex for an automated system to be developed that can produce unbiased plans. In this paper we present a novel method for redistricting a geographic area using a heuristic-based approach for polygonal spatial clustering. While clustering geospatial polygons several complex issues need to be addressed – such as: removing order dependency, clustering all polygons assuming no outliers, and strategically utilizing domain knowledge to guide the clustering process. In order to address these special needs, we have developed the Constrained Polygonal Spatial Clustering (CPSC) algorithm that holistically integrates domain knowledge in the form of cluster-level and instance-level constraints and uses heuristic functions to grow clusters. In order to illustrate the usefulness of our algorithm we have applied it to the pr...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2009
• Where: ICDM
• Authors: Deepti Joshi, Leen-Kiat Soh, Ashok Samal
• Keywords: Data Mining, Domain Knowledge, Geographic Area, ICDM 2009, Polygonal Spatial Clustering