Mapping Action Collective partnered with the Asian Pacific Islander Network of Oregon (APANO) to create a maps for their We Called, We Counted, and We Drew campaign to bring community voice to the statewide redistricting process in 2021.
After the decennial census (a nationwide survey taken every 10 years) is completed, voting districts in Oregon – and across the United States, are redrawn. Our decennial census was completed in 2020 and in 2021 the redistricting process began. Redistricting happens every ten years to account for population changes, and can have lasting impacts on how power is distributed, how decisions are made, and how communities are represented. In Oregon, the legislature is responsible for creating and passing a Redistricting plan. Their process starts with an initial map drafted by the Redistricting committee. The community gives feedback about these maps and the Legislature uses the feedback to make changes to these maps. The maps are then passed by the Legislature. For more on how the redistricting process works, see this story map which breaks down some of the details.
APANO recognized the opportunity for their community to contribute to the redistricting process. Having a voice in this process means they have a say in determining who runs for office, where transportation routes are, and where community spaces are in the districts where their community are based.
Our collective worked with APANO staff and community members to create a map that showed a culmination of community responses from their Washington County town hall in June of 2021. The map reflects where the APANO’s constituents view community power to be most prevalent throughout the Portland area. APANO sees the map as a first step in a iterative process of documenting community resources and power and that in another ten years, they can build on this exact map with even more sites of where their community feels visible a strong throughout Oregon. As they put it – mapping “where we make decisions, where we find our leadership being most effective, and where we feel most at home with one another”.
Mapping Action Collective 