A review of covering problems in facility location

Fundamental to the modelling of locational decisions is some measure of proximity. While the specific point-to-point distance (or time) is often used, the concept of coverage has become a well-known alternative. The norm of partitioning inter-point distances based on some distance standard has been employed extensively in the location literature for over a quarter of a century. In this survey on the topic of ‘covering’, 37 different journals were examined and 96 papers were collected. The models found fit into two broad categories based on whether coverage was required or optimized. The quintessential models in each category are the Set Covering Problem where coverage is required, and the Maximal Covering Location Problem where the greatest level of coverage is sought. Beginning with these two fundamental categories, this paper reviews each of the papers collected and classifies them within a detailed taxonomy.