A comparative policy analysis of public toilet provision initiatives in North American cities

One of the greatest sources of tension regarding public toilet provision is the conflict between the aspiration to provide public toilets for a range of users and the reality that public toilets often are used by particular groups of people, for example, people with substance abuse issues and people who use the toilets for sexual activity, in such a way that renders the public toilets seemingly un [...] By promoting the establishment of a goal and objectives for public toilet provision, as well as the articulation of vision and value statements, the development of a public toilet strategy would support the C i t i e s. C e n t r e. •. U n i v e r s i t y. o f. T o r o n t o. 9 improvement and enhancement of public toilet provision in Toronto. [...] It is particularly important to examine how other cities address the conflict between practical and public health motivations for public toilet provision and the social tensions that arise subsequent to the installation of the toilets, for example, vandalism, drug use, and sexual activity occurring in the toilet units, because these social tensions often have led to the closure of the public toile [...] Public Toilets in Toronto: Historical Context The history of public toilets in the City of Toronto has been marked by perpetual conflict between practical concerns—preventing excretion on city streets, and hence controlling the spread of disease, and social concerns—shielding the city’s inhabitants from the spectacle of open excretion, and exterminating the spectre of homosexual encounters in the [...] It is critical to examine the tension between practical and social concerns vis-à-vis public toilet provision that was present in Toronto at the turn of the twentieth century and that led to the closure of many of the city’s public toilets.