Location analysis: A synthesis and survey

The mathematical science of facility siting has attracted much research in discrete and continuous optimization over nearly four decades. Investigators have focused on both algorithms and formulations in diverse settings in the private sector (e.g., industrial plants, banks, retail facilities, etc.), and the public sector (e.g., ambulances, clinics, etc.). Each formulation has differences and similarities relative to the others, but the peculiarities of each problem provide the fuel for the hundreds of investigations. The presence of non-linearities and requirements for zero–one variables head the list of challenges that have occupied researchers in this active and expanding field. We review here the many facets of this exciting and centrally placed field through reference to both seminal works and current reviews.