The p-center problem seeks the location of p facilities. Each demand point receives its service from the closest facility. The objective is to minimize the maximal distance for all demand points. In this paper, the p-center location problem for demand originating in an area is investigated. This problem is equivalent to covering every point in the area by p circles with the smallest possible radius. Heuristic procedures are proposed and upper bounds on the optimal solution in a square are given. Computational results for the special case of a square area are reported. Some cases such as p=9 centers in a square yield unexpected and interesting results.
