Optimization of Shelter Location Based on a Combined Static/Dynamic Two-Stage Optimization Methodology: A Case Study in the Central Urban Area of Xinyi City, China

Determining how to reasonably allocate shelters in the central area of the city and improve evacuation efficiency are important issues in the field of urban disaster prevention. This paper introduces the methodology and mathematical model from the field of crowd emergency evacuation to shelter location optimization. Moreover, a shelter location optimization method based on the combination of static network analysis and dynamic evacuation simulation is proposed. The construction costs and evacuation times are taken as the objective functions. In the first stage, based on the static network analysis, a circular evacuation allocation rule based on the gravity model is proposed, and the genetic algorithm is then designed to solve the feasible schemes with the lowest shelter construction costs. In the second stage, the evacuation time is taken as the optimization objective. The age differences of refugees, the selection of evacuation routes, and the behavior of adults helping children and the elderly are simulated in a dynamic evacuation simulation model. The traditional social force model is improved to conduct a regional evacuation simulation and determine the optimal scheme with the shortest evacuation time. Finally, the central urban area of Xinyi City, Jiangsu Province, China, is taken as an empirical case.