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Districting Modeling with Exact Contiguity Constraints

Author

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  • Takeshi Shirabe

    (Institute for Geoinformation and Cartography, Vienna University of Technology, Gußhausstrasse 27-29, Vienna 1040, Austria)

Abstract

A classic problem in planning is districting, which aims to partition a given area into a specified number of subareas according to required criteria. Size, compactness, and contiguity are among the most frequently used districting criteria. While size and compactness may be interpreted differently in different contexts, contiguity is an unambiguous topological property. A district is said to be contiguous if all locations in it are ‘connected’—that is, one can travel between any two locations in the district without leaving it. This paper introduces a new integer-programming-based approach to districting modeling, which enforced contiguity constraints independently of any other criteria that might be additionally imposed. Three experimental models are presented, and tested with sample data on the forty-eight conterminous US states. A major implication of this paper is that the exact formulation of a contiguity requirement allows planners to address diverse sets of districting criteria.

Suggested Citation

  • Takeshi Shirabe, 2009. "Districting Modeling with Exact Contiguity Constraints," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 36(6), pages 1053-1066, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envirb:v:36:y:2009:i:6:p:1053-1066
    DOI: 10.1068/b34104
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Charles A. Holloway & Donald A. Wehrung & Michael P. Zeitlin & Rosser T. Nelson, 1975. "An Interactive Procedure for the School Boundary Problem with Declining Enrollment," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 23(2), pages 191-206, April.
    2. Knutson, Dennis L. & Marquis, Linda M. & Ricchiute, David N. & Saunders, Gary J., 1980. "A goal programming model for achieving racial balance in public schools," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 14(3), pages 109-116.
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    Cited by:

    1. Ram Gopalan & Steven O. Kimbrough & Frederic H. Murphy & Nicholas Quintus, 2013. "The Philadelphia Districting Contest: Designing Territories for City Council Based Upon the 2010 Census," Interfaces, INFORMS, vol. 43(5), pages 477-489, October.
    2. Sinem Savaşer & Ömer Burak Kınay & Bahar Yetis Kara & Pelin Cay, 2019. "Organ transplantation logistics: a case for Turkey," OR Spectrum: Quantitative Approaches in Management, Springer;Gesellschaft für Operations Research e.V., vol. 41(2), pages 327-356, June.
    3. D. M. King & S. H. Jacobson & E. C. Sewell, 2018. "The geo-graph in practice: creating United States Congressional Districts from census blocks," Computational Optimization and Applications, Springer, vol. 69(1), pages 25-49, January.
    4. Haase, Knut & Müller, Sven, 2014. "Upper and lower bounds for the sales force deployment problem with explicit contiguity constraints," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 237(2), pages 677-689.
    5. Sommer Gentry & Eric Chow & Allan Massie & Dorry Segev, 2015. "Gerrymandering for Justice: Redistricting U.S. Liver Allocation," Interfaces, INFORMS, vol. 45(5), pages 462-480, October.

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