The geography of institutional psychiatric care in France 1800-2000: Historical analysis of the spatial diffusion of specialised facilities for institutional care of mental illness

► This is the first detailed analysis of the development of the geographical distribution of psychiatric asylum institutions in France during the period from 1800-2000. ► The study makes innovative use of a range of historical and contemporary datasets. ► The processes relating to development in France of specialised institutional care for people with mental illness are discussed and compared with those in other countries. ► We critically discuss the relevance for this research of 'classic' theories of spatial diffusion of innovations and argue that the complex processes of diffusion illustrated here may be better understood through theories such as political ecology.