This project is a significant milestone for me as it marks my very first venture into Python programming. In recent years, I have developed a profound interest in data science as a means to continue my growth as a researcher in the Law & Economic field. Hence, to kickstart my programming journey, I decided to create a Choropleth map of the Colombian Judicial Districts' territorial distribution. At the beginning of my academic path, there weren't many resources available for conducting better research in my country, which further motivated me to embark on this project.
One of my intentional choices was to use a plural language style, creating a sort of educational narrative in the notebook. This approach felt right to me and added a unique touch to the project.
As I delved into the map creation, I couldn’t help but notice some critical observations:
- The map’s white spaces are symbolic; they represent the existing gaps in the judicial system. It became evident that not all municipalities in Colombia are adequately covered by courts, which is a fundamental constitutional right that needs to be addressed urgently. Whether it's due to a desactualization of the Judicial Map's PDF File or the lack of proper investment in closing this gap.
- Additionally, I realized that certain Government Municipalities Databases may not have kept up with recent changes in the territorial divisions. These findings have important implications for the Law & Economic field and call for further investigation and action.
Despite any imperfections in the code or data, I'm genuinely pleased with the final results.
I'm also making this project Open Access because I believe it could be beneficial to others in the field. And by providing proper reference recognition, I hope to keep track of any papers or future map developments that may utilize this work as a foundation.
This project is just the beginning of my journey, and I'm excited to see how my skills and knowledge will grow in the future. I sincerely hope that this humble contribution can be a stepping stone for more sophisticated mapping developments and help address important issues in Colombia's legal landscape.
To use this project, simply clone the repository and run the Jupyter notebook to generate the Choropleth map of the Colombian Judicial Districts. The necessary data files are included in the repository, so you can start exploring and visualizing the data right away.
Feel free to use and modify the code for your own projects, and don't forget to give proper credit to the original author (me) by including the appropriate references.
This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.
I would like to thank the following resources for their support and guidance:
They were instrumental in helping me overcome roadblocks and turn my ideas into reality.