Contiguity constraints for single-region site search problems

This paper proposes an explicit set of constraints as a general approach to the contiguity problem in site search modeling. Site search models address the challenging problem of identifying the best area in a study region for a particular land use, given. that there are no candidate sites. Criteria that commonly arise in a search include a site's area, suitability, cost, s hape, and proximity to surrounding geographic features. An unsolved problem in this modeling arena is the identification of a general set of mathemati cal programming constraints that can guarantee a contiguous solution (site) for any 0-1 Integer-programming site search formulation. The constraints pr oposed herein address this problem, and we evaluate their efficacy and effi ciency in the context of a regular and irregular tessellation of geographic space. An especially efficient constraint form is derived from a more gene ral form and similarly evaluated. The results demonstrate that the proposed constraints represent a viable, general approach to the contiguity problem .