A multi-objective evolutionary programming approach to the ‘object location’ spatial analysis and optimisation problem within the urban water management domain

Evolutionary programming (EP) is an application of the concepts of Darwinian evolution to complex optimisation problems. This is primarily addressed in the literature through the use of genetic algorithms (GAs), but there are problems where a hybrid approach coupling the robustness of GAs with the effectiveness of a heuristic procedure may yield better results. This paper focuses on the development and use of such a hybrid EP algorithm to solve a particular multi-objective spatial object-location problem. The domain knowledge which forms part of the heuristics of the methodology developed is provided by the problem of citing sustainable water management strategies within the urban fabric, taking into account social, economic, technical and cost parameters and constraints.