Equity and fairness in the location of public facilities

Abstract

We analyze the problem of fairly locating two facilities providing a public good in two spatial models: a city line and a network. Each facility is characterized not only by its location but also by its quality. We introduce new notions of envy-freeness and fairness that can be applied to spatial settings. We show that the tax scheme adopted to finance the public good has a key role in determining the existence of a spatially fair configuration of facilities.