5. Summary assessment of environmental relevance

In the present sector, environmental implications can be obtained in a form in which they are comparable by

- adopting the same division as is applied to the provision itself, namely primary provision, provision of main centres, and provision of special units and considering the environmental implications of each of these, and
- by adopting location-related criteria.

The improvement of schooling and health care is often felt to be a sine qua non for encouraging general development processes tending to produce better conditions of life.

Whereas schooling facilities generally exert easily assessed and only slight impacts on the environment, the sports facilities associated with schools, and schools with special laboratory facilities, particularly schools giving vocational training, require closer scrutiny for any possible environment impacts. In the present sector, there will not normally be any need to develop requirements for environmental protection which are not already embodied in the sector's own rules for environmental design.

In the case of hospitals and other facilities assignable to the field of health care, there will always need to be a separate investigation into any possible adverse environmental impacts caused by risks of infection.

Planning approaches that are particularly geared to environmental requirements but cost-conscious at the same time are feasible for projects of both kinds.

The locations of the facilities will be determined by planning objectives such as a wide measure of freedom from immissions, a good microclimate, and easy access. The environmental impact of the facilities on the location and its environs should be looked at.

Simply because of its underlying assumptions, the health care sector has major implications for the environment. The relevance to the environment of steps taken in this area lies mainly in the indirect and consequential impacts of these steps. In the light of their possible "negative or positive feedback", it seems all the more important for such impacts to be studied and for attention to be focussed on the subsequent action that can be taken in response to them.

With projects of both types, consideration needs to be given both to general interactions with other sectors and to interactions which need to be looked at from a variety of points of view. Full advantage should be made of any opportunities to adopt a unified approach.