Land-Use Allocation in the Absence of Complete Market Values

This paper describes a method of land-allocation that can be used byplanners and other land managers in the face of market failure. The method integrates theland-allocation approach used in geographic information systems with that used in a generalizedassignment problem. Suitability scores, instead of market prices, are used in assigning competingland uses to individual parcels (pixels) of land. The method is illustrated using a hypotheticalexample involving three competing land uses within a region.