Friday, August 31, 2012

[lddmyaij] Boundaries of minimum perimeter divisions

Divide a region into N equal area pieces, minimizing the length of cuts.  Do the cuts always end up being line segments, or can there be minimal curved cuts?

Divide the contiguous U.S. into 48 new states along new borders that are "simple" for a surveyor.  Although a bunch of long thin strips (perhaps longitude cuts) are simple, we probably don't want that.  Maybe preserve major rivers being boundaries.  Probably want equal population instead of equal area.

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