Land use structure optimization in Los Angeles County based on grey linear programming

Abstract

In the rapidly developing modern world, population growth and urbanization have driven the prioritization of industrial settlements over the natural environment in land use. Besides losing ecological services, many inherent problems emerge in cities due to inefficient planning. This study presents an application of a grey linear program to maximize the socio-economic and environmental benefits of the land use structure in Los Angeles County. A technique in operations research, linear programming fits the purpose of this study since it optimizes a function concerning constraints. For each of the fourteen land types in this research, a monetary value is assigned to its economic output and environmental services, and the scalar sum is the goal to be maximized. The constraints consist of inequalities built from historical trends, developmental needs, and targets. On the other hand, based on past data, the grey model employs differential equations to predict the value of several parameters for the linear program, such as GDP output. The results are calculated by the Scipy library in a Python program and improve the quantified benefit by 8.26%, with an increase in residential, commercial, and industrial land and a slower decrease in natural landscape. Environmental initiatives and improvements in LA Countys livability are necessary to fulfill long-term values.