There's only one to avoid gerrymandering, that's to replace single member districts with statewide voting that leads to proportional representation. Good luck getting that enacted in a two party system, though....
In Texas we seem to spend more time in court appeals than normal states, so we may have new maps every few years – or months depending on court directives. Some years Democrats are having the upper hand, and most years Republicans seem to have upper hand. But the courts usually settle the fights eventually. Texas Redistricting and Texas Redistricting Maps 2012: Candidates Study New Setup Take a look at District 17 as an extreme example of map meanderings. It runs from Louisiana line to west of Houston in an arc. ftp://ftpgis1.tlc.state.tx.us/PlanS172/Maps/Comparison_Maps/PLANS172_Map8000_Statewide_Legal-Sized.pdf
Wouldn't that lead to having all the Congressmen coming from the big cities and none from the rural areas?
Why would it? I would expect parties that want to appeal statewide to have to balance their candidate lists to accommodate voters from all parts of that state.