A comparison of using Euclidean and road distance to solve facility location problems

Abstract

To solve any facility location problem, the distance between facility locations and demand nodes is a crucial factor. In previous studies, the distance used most frequently is the Euclidean distance, despite that the road distance should be used when we travel by car or on foot. In this paper, we focus on the difference of the results by using the Euclidean distance and road distance to solve facility location problems. We apply the data of Fukuoka City to the p-median model and the p-center model, and compare the optimal solutions with Euclidean distance and road distance. Numerical results suggest that wide difference exists in some cases.