DROPS

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.SWAT.2026.19

Constant-Factor Approximations for Doubly Constrained Fair k-Center, k-Median and k-Means

Authors: Nicole Funk, Annika Hennes, Johanna Hillebrand, and Sarah Sturm

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 370, 20th Scandinavian Symposium on Algorithm Theory (SWAT 2026)

Abstract

We study discrete k-clustering problems in general metric spaces that are constrained by a combination of two different fairness conditions within the demographic fairness model. Given a metric space (P,d), where every point in P is equipped with a protected attribute, and a number k, the goal is to partition P into k clusters with a designated center each, such that a center-based objective function is minimized and the attributes are fairly distributed with respect to the following two fairness concepts: 1) group fairness: We aim for clusters with balanced numbers of attributes by specifying lower and upper bounds for the desired attribute proportions. 2) diverse center selection: Clusters have natural representatives, i.e., their centers. We ask for a balanced set of representatives by specifying the desired number of centers to choose from each attribute. Dickerson, Esmaeili, Morgenstern, and Pena [John P. Dickerson et al., 2023] denote the combination of these two constraints as doubly constrained fair clustering. They present algorithms whose guarantees depend on the best known approximation factors for either of these problems. Currently, this implies an 8-approximation with a small additive violation on the group fairness constraint. For k-center, we improve this approximation factor to 4 with a small additive violation. This guarantee also depends on the currently best algorithm for DS-fair k-center given by Jones, Nguyen and Nguyen [Matthew Jones et al., 2020]. For k-median and k-means, we propose the first constant-factor approximation algorithms. Our algorithms transform a solution that satisfies diverse center selection into a doubly constrained fair clustering using an LP-based approach. Furthermore, our results are generalizable to other center-selection constraints, such as matroid k-clustering and knapsack constraints.

Cite as

Nicole Funk, Annika Hennes, Johanna Hillebrand, and Sarah Sturm. Constant-Factor Approximations for Doubly Constrained Fair k-Center, k-Median and k-Means. In 20th Scandinavian Symposium on Algorithm Theory (SWAT 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 370, pp. 19:1-19:19, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

Copy BibTex To Clipboard

@InProceedings{funk_et_al:LIPIcs.SWAT.2026.19,
  author =	{Funk, Nicole and Hennes, Annika and Hillebrand, Johanna and Sturm, Sarah},
  title =	{{Constant-Factor Approximations for Doubly Constrained Fair k-Center, k-Median and k-Means}},
  booktitle =	{20th Scandinavian Symposium on Algorithm Theory (SWAT 2026)},
  pages =	{19:1--19:19},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-421-5},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{370},
  editor =	{Fraigniaud, Pierre},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.SWAT.2026.19},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-260551},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.SWAT.2026.19},
  annote =	{Keywords: Clustering, Fairness, Approximation Algorithms, k-center, k-median, k-means}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ISAAC.2024.16

FPT Approximations for Fair k-Min-Sum-Radii

Authors: Lena Carta, Lukas Drexler, Annika Hennes, Clemens Rösner, and Melanie Schmidt

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 322, 35th International Symposium on Algorithms and Computation (ISAAC 2024)

Abstract

We consider the k-min-sum-radii (k-MSR) clustering problem with fairness constraints. The k-min-sum-radii problem is a mixture of the classical k-center and k-median problems. We are given a set of points P in a metric space and a number k and aim to partition the points into k clusters, each of the clusters having one designated center. The objective to minimize is the sum of the radii of the k clusters (where in k-center we would only consider the maximum radius and in k-median we would consider the sum of the individual points' costs). Various notions of fair clustering have been introduced lately, and we follow the definitions due to Chierichetti et al. [Flavio Chierichetti et al., 2017] which demand that cluster compositions shall follow the proportions of the input point set with respect to some given sensitive attribute. For the easier case where the sensitive attribute only has two possible values and each is equally frequent in the input, the aim is to compute a clustering where all clusters have a 1:1 ratio with respect to this attribute. We call this the 1:1 case. There has been a surge of FPT-approximation algorithms for the k-MSR problem lately, solving the problem both in the unconstrained case and in several constrained problem variants. We add to this research area by designing an FPT (6+ε)-approximation that works for k-MSR under the mentioned general fairness notion. For the special 1:1 case, we improve our algorithm to achieve a (3+ε)-approximation.

Cite as

Lena Carta, Lukas Drexler, Annika Hennes, Clemens Rösner, and Melanie Schmidt. FPT Approximations for Fair k-Min-Sum-Radii. In 35th International Symposium on Algorithms and Computation (ISAAC 2024). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 322, pp. 16:1-16:18, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2024)

Copy BibTex To Clipboard

@InProceedings{carta_et_al:LIPIcs.ISAAC.2024.16,
  author =	{Carta, Lena and Drexler, Lukas and Hennes, Annika and R\"{o}sner, Clemens and Schmidt, Melanie},
  title =	{{FPT Approximations for Fair k-Min-Sum-Radii}},
  booktitle =	{35th International Symposium on Algorithms and Computation (ISAAC 2024)},
  pages =	{16:1--16:18},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-354-6},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2024},
  volume =	{322},
  editor =	{Mestre, Juli\'{a}n and Wirth, Anthony},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ISAAC.2024.16},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-221438},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ISAAC.2024.16},
  annote =	{Keywords: Clustering, k-min-sum-radii, fairness}
}

Search Results

Documents authored by Hennes, Annika

Constant-Factor Approximations for Doubly Constrained Fair k-Center, k-Median and k-Means

Abstract

Cite as

FPT Approximations for Fair k-Min-Sum-Radii

Abstract

Cite as

Thanks for your feedback!

Could not send message