I need to make a map that randomly places parcels (groups of pixels or polygons) on a suitability map by first filling the most suitable areas, then the next most suitable and so on, until a pre-defined number of parcels have been placed on the map.
This is probably best explained with an example. I have a shapefile with polygons on it (counties) and each polygon has a value (number of acres for a crop). I also have a suitability map (0-9 suitability for that crop). I need to place the number of acres defined in each polygon onto the suitably map. I want to first fill the most suitable lands (9) and if there is still land left fill the next most suitable land (8) and so on until the number of acres for that county are distributed. Each polygon has a different number of acres and a different range of suitability, e.g. some will have 0-9, others might only have 3-7. Within each suitability layer the placing of the parcels can be random.
I have just started looking into Python scripting for ArcGIS. It seems like I might be able to do this with Python but I'm not really sure where to start. I would be interested in hearing any suggestion or advice on how to accomplish this.
