Centralized Air-Pollution Treatment and the Optimal Location of Industries

Abstract

A cost-effectiveness optimization approach to industrial location planning and air quality management is developed, focusing on the feasibility of a centralized air-pollution-control system. The welfare criteria include air-pollution-control-related costs, but also other costs, such as commuting and land development costs. A multilevel optimization approach is outlined in order to devise economic incentives which may help to implement the optimal plan in a decentralized competitive decisionmaking context. A simplified linear programming formulation of the general model is applied to the Haifa area. Results confirm the need to adopt an integrated approach in examining the feasibility of a centralized air-pollution-control system.