mclp: Maximum Coverage Location Problem (MCLP)

In spopt: Spatial Optimization for Regionalization, Facility Location, and Market Analysis

Maximum Coverage Location Problem (MCLP)

Description

Solves the Maximum Coverage Location Problem: maximize total weighted demand covered by locating exactly p facilities.

Usage

mclp(
  demand,
  facilities,
  service_radius,
  n_facilities,
  weight_col,
  cost_matrix = NULL,
  distance_metric = "euclidean",
  fixed_col = NULL,
  verbose = FALSE
)

Arguments

demand	An sf object representing demand points.
facilities	An sf object representing candidate facility locations.
service_radius	Numeric. Maximum distance for coverage.
n_facilities	Integer. Number of facilities to locate (p).
weight_col	Character. Column name in demand containing demand weights.
cost_matrix	Optional. Pre-computed distance matrix.
distance_metric	Distance metric: "euclidean" (default) or "manhattan".
fixed_col	Optional column name in facilities indicating which facilities are pre-selected. The column should be logical (TRUE for fixed) or character ("required"/"candidate"). Fixed facilities are always selected; the solver optimizes the remaining slots. Useful for expansion planning where some facilities already exist.
verbose	Logical. Print solver progress.

Details

The MCLP maximizes the total weighted demand covered by locating exactly p facilities. Unlike lscp(), which requires full coverage, MCLP accepts partial coverage and optimizes for the best possible outcome given a fixed budget (number of facilities).

The integer programming formulation is:

\max \sum_i w_i z_i

Subject to:

\sum_j y_j = p

z_i \leq \sum_j a_{ij} y_j \quad \forall i

y_j, z_i \in \{0,1\}

Where w_i is the weight (demand) at location i, y_j = 1 if facility j is selected, z_i = 1 if demand i is covered, and a_{ij} = 1 if facility j can cover demand i.

Value

A list with two sf objects:

• ⁠$demand⁠: Original demand sf with .covered and .facility columns

• ⁠$facilities⁠: Original facilities sf with .selected column

Metadata is stored in the "spopt" attribute.

Use Cases

MCLP is appropriate when you have a fixed budget or capacity constraint:

• Healthcare access: Locating p clinics to maximize the population within a 30-minute drive, given limited funding

• Retail site selection: Choosing p store locations to maximize the number of potential customers within a trade area

• Emergency services: Placing p ambulance stations to maximize the population reachable within an 8-minute response time

• Conservation: Selecting p reserve sites to maximize the number of species or habitat area protected

• Telecommunications: Locating p cell towers to maximize population coverage when full coverage is not economically feasible

For situations where complete coverage is required, use lscp() to find the minimum number of facilities needed.

References

Church, R., & ReVelle, C. (1974). The Maximal Covering Location Problem. Papers in Regional Science, 32(1), 101-118. \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.1007/BF01942293")}

See Also

lscp() for finding the minimum facilities needed for complete coverage

Examples

library(sf)

# Create demand with weights
demand <- st_as_sf(data.frame(
  x = runif(50), y = runif(50), population = rpois(50, 100)
), coords = c("x", "y"))
facilities <- st_as_sf(data.frame(x = runif(10), y = runif(10)), coords = c("x", "y"))

# Maximize population coverage with 3 facilities
result <- mclp(demand, facilities, service_radius = 0.3,
               n_facilities = 3, weight_col = "population")

attr(result, "spopt")$coverage_pct

spopt documentation built on April 22, 2026, 9:07 a.m.