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An Evolutionary Algorithm for Site Search Problems
Author(s) -
Xiao Ningchuan
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
geographical analysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.773
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1538-4632
pISSN - 0016-7363
DOI - 10.1111/j.1538-4632.2006.00684.x
Subject(s) - initialization , mathematical optimization , computer science , contiguity , evolutionary algorithm , local search (optimization) , graph , representation (politics) , set (abstract data type) , search algorithm , series (stratigraphy) , algorithm , mathematics , theoretical computer science , paleontology , politics , political science , law , biology , programming language , operating system
The goal of solving a site search problem is to allocate a contiguous set of land parcels such that the total land acquisition cost, or other objectives, are optimized. This article describes the design and implementation of an evolutionary algorithm (EA) that can be used to solve site search problems. In this article, a graph representation is used to define the spatial structure of solutions to the problem. By using this representation, the contiguity of a site is maintained during the initialization, mutation, and local search operations of the EA. The effectiveness of the EA in finding optimal or near‐optimal solutions is demonstrated by testing it on a series of problems whose optimal solutions are known.