Spatial organization of health and welfare services

The organization and administration of health and welfare services raise issues of national economic policy and social planning; ideally, the physical planner’s role is to design a spatial framework within which these services could be provided so as to optimize efficiency for supplier and accessibility to client. Theoretically, in any given context, the nature, quality and range of services are determined by central and regional health and welfare authorities, while the location, and size of physical facilities should involve primarily the town and regional planner. Historically, of course, such a division of labour has rarely existed; the present network of health and welfare facilities in many countries has arisen from a host of local social and administrative circumstances rather than from any deliberate joint research by physical and social planners.