Have you experienced clean, accessible and free public toilets / restrooms?
If so, where were they
Are clean, accessible & free public toilets common in your town or city?
Together with Genevieve Mancuso, P.E. PHLUSH & representing my own NGO Pedestrian Space, I worked on a piece about public health, walkability & inclusive, accessible toilet access that will soon be published in the ‘Walkability & Mobility Justice’ Special Issue of Cities & Health journal.
It’s sort of remarkable (in a bizarre way) that many people all over the world and on all continents still lack basic access to clean, free toilets and that many cities also do not prioritize this as a common good.
However, I am not one to simply point out problems. I deeply value documenting solutions and various ‘best practices’ – with full knowledge of course of differences in adaptation in local contexts.
Earlier this year, I had a research chapter published in the Springer Nature book ‘Underground Spaces for Climate Resilience and Sustainability‘. My chapter was called ‘Exploring Warsaw Metro: Subterranean Solutions for Walkability in Cities‘ & includes reference to the public toilets in Warsaw’s metro system that are:
- present at every single metro station
- free
- clean (each one is staffed & routinely cleaned multiple times per day)
- d) accessible (all are accessible including if you are moving with a wheelchair or stroller, as there are elevators and/or station ramps).
Link to chapter here: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-96-0547-7_3
With these metro toilets, I recognized an international best practice by Metro Warszawskie Sp. z o.o., in prioritizing the public health of commuters and city residents & users (toilets are located outside of the ticketed areas, so even if you are not commuting by subway, you can use them).
I was really happy for the opportunity to research this and have it published in a great volume exploring various aspects of contemporary underground space. I also have ongoing research on the availability (or lack thereof) of public toilets in other metro systems worldwide that I look forward to sharing.
Stay tuned soon for the piece by in Cities & Health on public toilet access, public health, walkability and inclusion.
