Solving location‐allocation problems with professional optimization software

Abstract

Location‐allocation modeling has always been regarded as a core part of spatial analysis. A review of the literature, however, reveals that, nevertheless, publications related to facility location disappeared almost completely from geographic journals in the meantime. It can be assumed that one major reason for this development is the limited capability of the location‐allocation modules implemented in GIS packages that prevents this software from being used to solve the increasingly complex real‐world problems of today. The main purpose of the present article is to demonstrate how location‐allocation problems can be solved efficiently with professional optimization software, more precisely, with the two program packages CPLEX® and AIMMS®. Starting from two classic problems, viz., the p$$ p $$‐median and the location set covering problem, the article presents how structurally much more complicated problems, which are far beyond the capabilities of the respective GIS modules, can be solved quite easily with these program packages.

Opensource spatial optimization in GIScience for strategic positioning

“…The spatial optimization of location selection in continuous space has focused on a range of different planning criteria and issues (see Church, 2019; Drezner, 2022; Murray et al, 2020; Plastria, 1995; Wolf, 2022). Hakimi (1964) was among the first to highlight the need for addressing access and coverage but assumed that potential locations were discrete, not continuous, and concluded that addressing both issues was too complicated.…”