The Brennan Center for Justice explored "Who Controlled Redistricting in Every State".  Independent commissions and courts each drew around a fifth of the maps in this redistricting cycle.  Twenty-six states passed maps mainly on a party-line basis.  Investigate the data through articles Assessing the Redistricting Cycle.

One of the most challenging topics when trying to figure out where to draw lines is defining a community of interest.  Howard Gorrell suggests ending gerrymandering by using school districts to draw electoral district maps.  Is your school district in one congressional, state legislative, county commission, or city council district?  Do you think that is important?

Wondering "whether increased accessibility of demographic data and geospatial tools will push official mapping processes to reflect more accurately the electorate in states across the country, or whether they will be manipulated to further skew district lines to favor one group"?  Read observations in Political Geography.