Accessibility Analysis and Proposal for Health Infrastructure in Ahmedabad using GIS

Abstract

The alteration from a rural into an urban region is one of the most remarkable processes of transformation of recent times. India is a 2nd most populous country in the world and the population is continuously rising day by day which increase the demand for social infrastructure. Ahmedabad is one of the recently declared smart cities in India, where accessibility to social infrastructure facility will be an important criterion. Planning of social infrastructure in urban centres of Gujarat is based on reservations of land earmarked in the Development Plan and the Town Planning Scheme. The distribution of these facilities should be as per the norms could be brought in among important goals for Ahmedabad municipal corporation. However, considering the population boom, the presence of social infrastructure could be deficient at present and the needs will increase in future. The paper discusses about availability of health care facilities, as of the urban health centres, general hospitals and multispecialty hospitals in the West part of Ahmedabad. Accessibility of these facilities is analyzed using GIS as a tool and derived for gaps considering population projection, population density and access through length of the road network for the future in accordance with Urban and Regional Development Plan Formulation and Implementation guidelines. Suitable new locations are suggested at earmarked land parcels to improve the accessibility of the social infrastructure facilities for the present and futuristic residents of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation West.