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Nearly four years after floating the possibility, the city Department of Parks and Recreation is preparing for a trial run of prefabricated, kiosk-like bathrooms that cost a fraction of the multimillion-dollar price tag for building traditional restrooms.
The modular bathrooms resemble curved newspaper kiosks, with slatted sides that are intended to provide needed privacy, but also enough sightlines to dissuade illicit behavior.
— The City
The New York City Department of Parks & Recreation says there will be one test toilet for each borough at a cost of $185,000 each. Five other “comfort stations” are also currently in the department’s construction pipeline. According to them, the new pilot is meant to “determine the... View full entry
This post is brought to you by AF New York What does an all-white room signify to you? For me, it’s a fraught mix of sanitarium/hospital, a sort of blank slate for digital reality a la The Matrix, and a vaguely heavenly connotation—like something from a film in which Morgan Freeman... View full entry
Located at the intersection of sculpture and architecture, TOLO's XYYXXY Accessible Restroom is designed as a counterpoint to the “normative” bathroom. The plan takes the shape of a disfigured cross with a “non-gendered” toilet or urinal stall located at the end of each spoke. The impetus... View full entry
As investigations into the ways in which the coronavirus spreads continue, new research suggests once again that bathrooms, and particularly toilets, represent a potential vector for infection. Recently published research in the academic journal Physics of Fluids finds that toilet... View full entry
The COVID-19 pandemic has necessarily prompted a rethinking of many of the most fundamental aspects of daily life around the world, as people, businesses, and governments seek to retrofit the built environment in order to minimize the potential for future exposure. Everything from HVAC... View full entry
Public health experts, designers and architects say the Covid-19 pandemic has exposed fundamental flaws in the design of public toilets that risk spreading a second wave of coronavirus, and possibly even new pandemics. [...]
Some of the suggested innovations include a greater uptake of sensor taps, fully self-cleaning cubicles, designing exits that don’t require human contact, and having bathroom attendants.
— The Guardian
The Guardian laying out suggestions from health experts on how to improve hygiene standards in public restrooms, not only in light of the current pandemic but in preparation of the next one. "We’ve almost got this little opportunity from the pandemic where people are going to listen and going to... View full entry
On Sept. 16, Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell signed three bills that make it a misdemeanor (punishable by up to 30 days in jail and a maximum $1,000 fine) to sit or lie on sidewalks in the bustling tourist district of Waikiki and outlaw relieving oneself in public islandwide.
Homeless advocates say the new laws unfairly target Hawaii’s most vulnerable residents, especially since Waikiki has only one 24-hour public restroom in the crowded district.
— Al Jazeera
In a 2014 report, Hawaii was ranked as the state with highest population of homeless residents, who provoke the ire of local businesses. Some opponents of the new law claim it breaks the traditional "law of the splintered paddle," introduced by King Kamehameha circa 1797. The law states: “Let... View full entry
In the U.S., homeless-rights advocates say that in most cities it is difficult to find public toilets — making sanitation an issue that homeless people face on a daily basis [...] Even if there are public bathrooms, many are not open around the clock, leaving the homeless with no other option but to go in public areas — an act that is criminalized in most cities. Critics say such policies unfairly punish homeless people for life-sustaining actions. — Al Jazeera
Often restricted private bathrooms in restaurants or cafes, homeless people have very few options but to defecate in public – a dehumanizing and unsanitary situation. American cities are not particularly well-known for creating infrastructure and urban furniture that accommodates their sizeable... View full entry
Nicholas Korody penned, Shitting Architecture: the dirty practice of waste removal. Therein drawing lessons; from Slavoj Zizek on the toilet and Timothy Morton (of Object-Oriented Ontology [OOO]) on sustainability as the preservation of the status quo, he argues that "Under the weight of the... View full entry
It’s a simple yet elegant solution to the bane of concert, theater and sports event attendees everywhere. A light above each restroom stall glows green when the stall door is open and turns red when the door is locked, instantly showing which stalls are available. Allen Klevens, co-founder and CEO of Tooshlights, an L.A.-based startup, says that the technology could potentially cut wait times by up to 50 percent. — forbes.com
Old Indian cities like Varanasi, Amritsar, Kolkata and even Delhi, could be in for a facelift over the next few years with the Narendra Modi government planning to develop modern satellite towns around these cities under the 100 Smart City programme, while upgrading the decaying infrastructure of the old towns. [...]
All new cities will have integrated transport — modern bus systems, trams, metro rail and bicycle tracks — aided by satellite mapping, garbage disposal and solid waste management.
— articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com
Before becoming India's prime minister and promising to make cities smart, Narendra Modi's campaign was focused on a slightly less lofty goal: "toilets before temples":The BJP leader is quite right to declare that India should spend less money on devotion and more on sanitation. According to... View full entry
It works like this: people empty their latrines into a sewage receptacle (currently, latrines are often emptied into rivers), the waste gets funneled through a series of tubes and is pressurized at extreme temperatures, and the byproduct is clean, possibly drinkable water. Deshusses describes the process as “a pressure cooker on steroids.” — wunc.org
Inadequate sewage systems and the lack of toilets in much of the developing world have created a major public health and environmental crisis. Now various innovators are promoting new kinds of toilets and technologies that use little or no water and recycle the waste. — e360.yale.edu
The sanitation revolution has done more to save lives and improve health than any public health intervention in the past 200 years. But the flush toilet has only reached one-third of the world’s population. Clearly, we need to encourage new ideas and new approaches to accelerate safe and affordable access to sanitation for everyone. — gatesfoundation.org
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced the launch of a strategy to help bring safe, clean sanitation services to millions of poor people in the developing world. The foundation also announced $42 million in new sanitation grants that aim to spur innovations in the capture and storage... View full entry
When I first came to Japan a quarter decade ago, toilets were in unheated spaces, and it was sometimes a shock to sit. About 20 years ago, leaders in the industry came up with a nifty solution: a small heater in the seat. Over time, more and more features were added: massaging and bidet features are common, newer ones have a little air fan for deodorizing,... play music, and light the inside of the bowl. Somewhere along the line, the original reason for the heater itself became less important — The Berkeley Blog
