NYCPHP Meetup

[Andy Crain]

> I kinda figured the Census Bureau made that stuff available, but I
> didn't think I could just go there and download it. Better get a copy
> before someone decides it's a Natl. Security Risk for us to know where
> all the congressional district boundaries are located...

:)

It's actually an incredibly rich data source. Great for GIS, but also useful
for stuff like proximity calculations for web apps, and the only free source
of such data on a nationwide level (that I know of). Some local governments
provide more up-to-date and therefore possibly more accurate street segments
and political boundaries, for example. Companies such as GDT and Navteq, I
believe, use this data, and collect additional data from hundreds of local
governments, polish it up and sell it for a premium.

Andy