Maps draw UPenn students on Constitution Day

September 17th, 2018
12:15pm - 2:00pm
Class of '49 Auditorium, Houston Hall
University of Pennsylvania
Locust Walk
University of Pennsylvania campus
Philadelphia
FREE. Lunch served.

Constitution Day is a big deal in the city where the document was written - and on the campus that signer Ben Franklin founded. This year, Penn chose gerrymandering as the day's focus and asked Draw the Lines PA to lead the program.

Boundaries matter.  The lines that define the places where people live can have profound effects on their lives.   And the algorithms  experts use to turn data into maps can be deeply affected by the biases those experts bring to the work.

Dr. Ken Stief of the University of Pennsylvania discussed these issues with Chris Satullo, Draw the Lines PA project director during this event, attended by Penn students and faculty.  Stief is founder of Urban Spatial and Director of the Master of Urban Spatial Analytics at the University Pennsylvania.

Then attendees were briefed on Draw the Lines' mapping competitions and got a chance to test drive the free, online mapping tool, DistrictBuilder.

Photo of DTL Project Director Chris Satullo and UPenn's Ken Stief discussing the importance of legislative redistricting.
DTL Project Director Chris Satullo and UPenn's Ken Stief discuss the importance of legislative redistricting with Penn students. | Image Credit: Draw the Lines Pa Staff