The enhanced reliability of the spatial analytical model based on the optimal distance model far outweighs the cost of the computational procedure that leads to the coefficient selection. The advantage of the procedure discussed in this paper can be best appreciated by considering that empirical measurements of distance and travel time cannot be implemented in spatial analytical modeling, exactly because of their empirical nature and the great impact they receive from local features and conditions. For this reason, the optimized Minkowski coefficient represents a valuable compromise between an approach that is often simplistic (i.e., Euclidean and Manhattan metrics) and the ideal, but impractical sophistication of empirical measurements (i.e., road distance and travel time, respectively).