Location Models

Location problems occur all around us: finding a new location of a warehouse, a location for a fast-food outlet, a newspaper transfer point, an ambulance, or any other of a myriad of facilities that are to be sited. All location problems, regardless how different they may sound like or actually be, have four components in common: space, distance, customers, and facilities. As far as space goes, we either work in an n-dimensional space or on a network. In case of an n-dimensional space, most often we work in two dimensions, e.g., on a surface such as a map. However, locations in three-dimensional space may also be considered, e.g., when locating satellites for the transmission of information, or satellites whose task is to destroy incoming objects that are considered threatening to a country.