Exploratory Spatial Optimization and Site Search: A Neighborhood Operator Approach

COVA, Thomas J. (cova@geog.utah.edu), University of Utah, Department of Geography, 260 S. Central Campus Dr., Room 270, Salt Lake City, UT 84112-9155; and CHURCH, Richard L., (church@geog.ucsb.edu), University of California Santa Barbara, Department of Geography, Santa Barbara, CA 93016

Key Words: site search, spatial optimization, exploratory spatial data analysis

This paper describes a framework for searching a discrete representation of geographic space for an optimal site of finite area in which to locate a particular land use or activity. The approach relies on a point-to-area neighborhood operator that is capable of identifying the best contiguous site that includes a given point in a study area, where the area and shape of the site may vary. The framework represents a synthesis of concepts drawn from cartographic modeling (Tomlin, 1990), optimal land allocation (Wright et al., 1983), and land suitability mapping (Lyle and Stutz, 1983). The result of applying an optimal site search neighborhood operator to every point in a study area is a mathematical field of best site boundaries, one for each point, that we refer to as a site field. A site field does not lend itself to static visualization in two dimensions, and we describe a means for interactively exploring one. A significant benefit of adopting a neighborhood operator approach in a discrete geographic data modeling context is that it serves to spatially decompose the global site search problem into a set of smaller local problems; thus, the computational effort required to solve an optimal site search problem at a point is not tied to the number of spatial units in the global data set. Using this approach, we can efficiently search large spatial data sets for an optimal site in which to locate a land use or activity.

References

Diamond, J.T., and J.R. Wright, 1989, "Efficient Land Allocation," Journal of Urban Planning and Development, v. 115, pp. 81-96.

Lyle, J., and F.P. Stutz, 1983, "Computerised Land Suitability Mapping," The Cartographic Journal, v. 20, pp. 39-49.

Tomlin, C.D., 1990, "Geographic Information Systems and Cartographic Modeling," Englewood Cliffs, Prentice Hall.