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social services — English
The official provision of the tangible and intangible things to meet the needs of the people in a society. Human beings have needs and they have wants. The “wants” are the “would like to haves” and people’s existence does not depend on these. In order to survive, these needs have to be met. Even needs can be ranged from basic needs (like food and shelter) to higher-level needs such as advanced education. In any society, there is a common responsibility to provide in the basic needs of all, even those who cannot afford to pay for it. This societal responsibility is delegated to the government or some authority which has to execute the service provision and ensure that the needy receive the necessary services, such as health-care, basic schooling, secure shelters, enough food, clean water, and all the basic requirements for survival or even a decent life. Those who can afford it pay taxes to the authority to provide in the needs of those who cannot afford to pay for these services. If the basic needs of the poorest in a society are not satisfied, social unrest and instability may result. Before people lived together in villages and cities each family group had to provide in its own needs. When family units widened and formed clans and communities, a sense of society was born. People started to help one another, and the concept of “social belonging” was born. Nowadays, with more than 50% of the world population living in cities, service provision is one of the main considerations in urban planning and development. Spatial analysis is done to find the optimal locations for schools, hospitals, markets, and so forth.
