GENERAL-CONSIDERATIONS ON THE USE OF THE WEIGHTED L(P) NORM AS AN EMPIRICAL DISTANCE MEASURE

In this paper, we present a general procedure for fitting the weighted l(p) norm in order to estimate travel distances in a distribution sys tem. An important finding of our study is that the search for the best -fitting value of the parameter p cart be restricted to the interval ( 0, 2], provided the reference axes of the distance function are orient ed to match the directional bias inherent in the transportation networ k. The advantages of our methodology and particularly the importance o f properly aligning the reference axes are demonstrated through a case study of the road system in Southern Ontario. Although attention is r estricted to the weighted l(p) norm, the concepts presented are readil y extended to other distance functions such as the bloch norms of Ward and Wendell.