The Impact of Residential and Non-Residential Demand on Location-Allocation Decision-Making: A Case Study of Modelling Suitable Locations for EMS in Leicester and Leicestershire, England UK

The research examines the impact of residential and non-residential demand on facility location planning by comparing results from two location models: travel-to-work (TTW) and Residential model. The TTW model considers short-term changes in the state of the population due to travel-to-work (non-residential demand). By contrast, the Residential model uses a static snap-shot of the population based on official census estimates (residential demand). Comparison of both models was based on a case study of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) location-allocation planning problem in Leicester and Leicestershire, England, UK. Results showed that the using a static residential demand surface to plan EMS locations overestimates actual demand coverage, compared to a non-residential demand surface. Differences in location-allocation results between the models underscore the importance of accounting for temporal changes in the state of the population when planning locations for health service facilities. The findings of the study have implications for siting of EMS, designing, and planning of EMS service catchments and allocation of prospective demand to EMS sites. The study concludes that consideration of temporal changes in the state of the population is important for reliable and efficient location-allocation planning.