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I have two polygon shapefiles and one cost surface. I need to estimate accessibility to these two sets of destinations. The part that I don't understand is whether I have to use an output backlink raster in Cost Distance tool or not and what exactly it should be...

It says it's optional to use it, but somehow I have the feeling I should use it.

How do I create an output backlink raster?

I have read the description in ArcMap 10.0 help section, it just that I don't really understand it.

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    Check out costpath analysis in the help files. The requirements to get the actual path, and hence, its length etcetera are explained there.
    – user681
    Commented May 16, 2013 at 15:24
  • I have read the help files, I just don`t understand them... "The output cost back-link raster contains values of 0 through 8, which define the direction or identify the next neighboring cell (the succeeding cell) along the least accumulative cost path from a cell to reach its least cost source." How do I create this backlink raster?
    – mikbet
    Commented May 16, 2013 at 18:07
  • It looks like your question has changed slightly so I am going to move the one from your comment into its title and remove one from its body to see if more focus can get it answered.
    – PolyGeo ♦
    Commented Jul 18, 2013 at 3:15

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You take your Cost surface (values equal cost per map unit, not pixel) and create a Cost Distance surface and a Backlink surface from your start point with the Spatial Analyst function "Cost Distance". Then you take your destination point and the just created Cost Distance surface and the Backlink surface and use it in the "Cost Path" function.

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