The location of service facilities in rural areas: A model for generating and evaluating alternative solutions

Abstract

Askew I. (1983) The location of service facilities in rural areas: a model for generating and evaluating alternative solutions, Reg. Studies 17, 305–314. The problem of the accessibility of public service facilities in rural areas is considered using a locational model. The model is in two stages. The first uses a location-allocation algorithm to generate alternative sets (strategies) of facility locations for a region. The second uses a time-geographic approach to measure the accessibility of the facilities for each strategy, and takes personal mobility into account. Concordance analysis and multidimensional scaling is then applied to evaluate the alternative strategies. A case study is given in which the model is applied to the problem of locating GP facilities in South-East Devon, England.