Check out this really neat report and related maps which explores the meaning of “Communities of Interest” in the context of redistricting the NYC Council.

The Center for Urban Research prepared a paper on behalf of the NYC Districting Commission discussing how “communities of interest” might be considered, measured, and understood in the context of drawing new City Council lines in the 2013 districting process. The paper was included in the Commission’s March 2013 submission to the US Department of Justice (see Exhibit 69 at that link) regarding the final proposed Council district lines.  We have made it available here with the permission of the Districting Commission.

You can download the paper here:

http://www.urbanresearch.org/resources/communities-of-interest-in-new-york-city