How to measure legislative district compactness if you only know it when you see it

To deter gerrymandering, many US state constitutions require legislative districts to be geographically "compact" (and a similar requirement holds explicitly or implicitly for numerous political jurisdictions around the world). Yet, the law offers few precise definitions other than "you know it when you see it," which effectively implies a common understanding of the concept. In contrast, academics have shown that compactness has multiple dimensions and have generated many conflicting measures.

'Yes to Europe! The 1975 Referendum and Seventies Britain' Book presentation by Robert Saunders (QUML)

On 5 June 1975, voters went to the polls in Britain's first national referendum to decide whether the UK should remain in the European Community. As in 2016, the campaign shattered old political allegiances and triggered a far-reaching debate on Britain's place in the world. The campaign to stay in stretched from the Conservative Party - under its new leader, Margaret Thatcher - to the Labour government, the farming unions and the Confederation of British Industry. Those fighting to 'Get Britain Out' ranged from Enoch Powell and Tony Benn to Scottish and Welsh nationalists.
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