Tell Us About Your Community of Interest
Foster City has initiated the process of transitioning from at-large to district elections. As part of this process, the City Council wants to hear from you on how these boundaries should be drawn. Complete this form to tell the City Council about your community of interest – keeping communities of interest together is a valued criteria in the districting process.
What is a community of interest?
A community of interest is a “contiguous population that shares common social and economic interests that should be included within a single district for purposes of its effective and fair representation.” They are the overlapping sets of neighborhoods, networks, and groups that share interests, views, cultures, histories, languages, and values and whose boundaries can be identified on a map. The following elements help define communities of interest:
- Shared interests in schools, housing, community safety, transit, health conditions, land use, environmental conditions, and/or other issues.
- Common social and civic networks, including churches, mosques, temples, homeowner associations, and community centers, and shared use of community spaces, like parks and shopping centers.
- Racial and ethnic compositions, cultural identities, and households that predominantly speak a language other than English.
- Similar socio-economic status, including but not limited to income, home-ownership, and education levels.
- Shared political boundary lines from other jurisdictions, such as school districts, community college districts, and water districts.
Please consider the following questions and criteria when considering your community of interest (for consideration only, no need to provide answers):
- Does your community have a shared culture, characteristics, or bond?
- Is your community geographic in nature? Is your community able to be mapped? Is there density within your community?
- Describe your community’s relationship with the City and how it is affected by policy decisions made by the City Council.
