6/ You can read the full paper here:
📰 Studies in American Political Development:
"Redrawing Democracy: Quantifying House District Continuity and Change, 1789–2024"

doi.org/10.1017/S089...

Would love to hear your thoughts!

5/ One key takeaway:
Redistricting isn’t just about gerrymandering vs. fairness - it’s also about change vs. continuity.

Sometimes, not changing a district can be just as strategic - especially when it protects incumbents or preserves racial power structures.

4/ Here's one striking finding: despite all the political drama, most of U.S. redistricting history shows very little change — until recently.

But when change happens, it’s not random. It tracks with:

Shifts to at-large elections
Party control
Racial demographics
Legal and technical innovation

3/ I developed four new metrics to measure redistricting change, and used them to track patterns across five key eras:

Spatial Representation
Shifting Apportionment
Relative Stasis
Racial Redistricting
Precision Engineering

2/ Why does this matter?
We often focus on how districts are drawn - but not how much they change.
This paper introduces the concept of spatial protectionism - the strategic preservation of district lines - and shows how it plays out over 235 years of redistricting.

📧 Email ursula.hackett@rhul.ac.uk for Zoom registration link.

#EducationPolitics #APSA #VirtualConference @apsaedpolitics.bsky.social @apsa.bsky.social @rhulpir.bsky.social

📝 Brilliant Panels on civic education & political attitudes; race, gender & free speech; private school choice; student aid; & refugee education

🌟 Open to all scholars, members & non-members alike. Attend any session or the whole event—for free!

📚 Book Roundtable: "Shaping Minds, Shaping Nations: Democracy, Protest & State Power"Featuring Agustina S. Paglayan, Domingo Morel & Matthew Nelsen🎁 Book giveaway for three lucky attendees!🕒 Thu, Feb 27 at 9am PT / 12pm ET

✨ Keynote Events:

🎤 In Conversation: "The Shifting Politics of School Choice"🗣️ Ursula Hackett & Jeffrey Henig🕒 Wed, Feb 26 at 9.10am PT / 12.10pm ET