Optimal School Allocation Using GIS and Linear Programming

According to the nearby enrollment policy,an integer programming model is proposed to minimize the total travel cost.Since the relational graph between schools and residences is a typical bipartite graph,the model can be solved by linear programming relaxation exactly.Furthermore,the model is simplified dramatically by eliminating the unreasonable school-residence links.In ArcGIS 10 Geoprocessing framework,a school allocation tool is designed by integrating ArcGIS network analysis.The experimental result shows that the proposed mathematical model and solution method are efficient,easy-to-use and practical for large-scale optimal school allocation.