Advancing contiguous environmental land allocation analysis, planning and modeling. Issue 1 (2nd January 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Murray, Alan T.; Church, Richard L.; Pludow, B. Amelia; Stine, Peter
• Is Part Of: Journal of land use science. Volume 17:Issue 1(2022)
• Page Start: 572
• Page End: 590
• Publication Date: 2022-01-02
• Subjects: Land acquisition -- patch delineation -- spatial optimization -- wildfire -- contiguity; Land use -- Periodicals; 333.7313
• DOI: 10.1080/1747423X.2022.2041120
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1747-423X

Abstract

ABSTRACT: The identification or delineation of a spatially contiguous area within a larger region is an important land use planning problem and is utilized across a range of disciplines and management contexts. This involves the selection of individual spatial units, such as parcels, forest stands, management areas, etc., for an intended goal, purpose, usage and/or activity with constraints on maximum size along with contiguity requirements. The goal of this paper is to present a new spatial optimization model that can be used to simultaneously delineate single or multiple patches, where each is a contiguous set of individual spatial units, meets specific size requirements and is spatially distinct. We structure this new model as a mixed integer-linear program. We also present an application of this new model to a land management problem encountered by the USDA Forest Service involving wildfire mitigation efforts.