The right to affordable access to hospitals, clinics and dispensaries is one of the major priorities of government authorities. The constant migration towards cities and consequent growth of informal urban settlements makes it imperative to consider the ‘grid of influence’ of such facilities. An attempt is made to understand this influence through satellite imagery and neural networking. Parameters such as distance from access roads and different types of informal settlements were analysed to understand their significance. These parameter models were then used as inputs for training a neural network in a case study area. Statistical plots helped to understand the weight of the parameters and accordingly a spatial probability map was prepared. The results of the study could aid development officials in their various plans and proposals for their urban jurisdiction, helping to increase accessibility to health facilities using modern predictive tools.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.