Study on the optimal allocation of public service facilities from the perspective of living circle—A case study of Xiangyang High-tech Zone, China

The equitable allocation of public service facilities is directly related to the healthy development and socially just functioning of cities. Traditional location-allocation models mostly take travel distance and facility construction cost as the decision-making objectives, with relatively single optimization objectives, and are not sufficiently adaptable to reality. The introduction of the accessibility analysis and the concept of equalization of public services diversify the objectives of urban public service facility optimization decisions. The construction of the circle of life is based on residents' behavior and helps to improve its adaptability in the configuration of public services. This study evaluates the accessibility of eight types of public service facilities in Xiangyang High-tech Zone, China, from a Living Circle perspective, based on the Gaussian Two-step Floating Catchment Area (G2SFCA) method. We integrate the advantages of the Minimum Facility Point (MFP) model, Maximum Covering Location Problem (MCLP) model, and P-Median model to address the equity and efficiency issues in facility configuration, and seek the optimal layout scheme under the fairness objective. Results showed that after using the improved location-allocation models, the maximum travel time for residents was reduced from 76 ​min to 13 ​min, and the average travel time was reduced from 19 ​min to 8 ​min. Additionally, the coverage rate of the facilities increased from an average of 57% to 97%, and the spatial layout of facilities was more rational. The research results contributed to the study of spatial problems and spatial equity in facility allocation.