Analytical models for locating undesirable facilities (Q1118522)

Many location models minimize some function of the distances between facilities. This is appropriate when locating service facilities. However, if one is locating an obnoxious facility, such as a garbage dump, a chemical plant or a nuclear reactor, closeness is undesirable. In such instances, a model which maximizes some function of distance may be more appropriate. This paper contains a survey of the maximization location models in the Operations Research literature, and presents a synthesis of the solution procedures with emphasis on similarities and differences. The survey is limited to those models whose objective functions involve distances. Throughout, a number of unsolved problems are discussed and directions for future research in this area are identified.