Public Toilets & Common-sense Urban Governance

Public bathrooms don’t need to be disgusting.

I realized sometime during my time living in Poland that I had a trauma related to public bathrooms. I have lived in so many communities in North America and Europe where public bathrooms are a) typically difficult to find / low in number, b) when you do find them they are not well maintained and sometimes so dirty it just destroys your will to even try using public bathrooms in the future.

Public toilet in Ogród Jordanowski

Here in Poland, I’ve had more cases where the opposite is true and I in fact began to document them.

I understand that the situation may not be universal across the nation’s cities and towns and that the situation can still be improved (as in most places). But, plainly put, over time here I’ve lost my fear of using public restrooms.

Public toilet in Ogród Jordanowski

Today I checked out this one at a park I was passing through. Clean, well maintained, supplies (toilet paper, paper towels, soap) in check.

Public toilet in Ogród Jordanowski

This a basic need to be prioritized and common-sense urban governance ensures that whomever is maintaining them, they are clean, accessible and safe.

Prioritize clean, accessible and safe public toilets

View more on our public toilets coverage here