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We analyze the history of urban hospitals, or in other words, their relationships with the city. From quarantine measures which threw the plague-stricken out of cities to the hygienists of the nineteenth century, hospitals have become a central urban service because urban growth has caught up with them. Any consideration of their role in various territories cannot be limited to a statistical approach. It is the mirror of the city and must meet the needs of all users, patients, nursing staff, and visitors. Although modern, technology-driven hospitals remain innovative and efficient, they must break down the virtual walls which surround them and prevent them from having close relationships with the living environments of potential patients.