A neighbor speaks out.
It was good to hear from an Old Town neighbor, even one who is understandably distressed. But public urination is distressing, and especially now that we have toilets at more or less at 1000 foot intervals throughout the hood. There is a concern we have that I would like to address. We have…
How PHLUSH Began
For decades the lack of public restrooms had been a problem for business owners, employees, residents, and visitors in Portland’s Old Town Chinatown district. Located at the heart of the city, this is the place where Portland began. It was home to the historic skid road of a timber-dominated economy driven by workers from Oregon…
Washington DC activists look to PHLUSH Advocacy
Today brings an interesting post on the lack of public restrooms in Washington DC by blogger Lynda Laughlin, a sociologist whose day job is a family demographer with the US Census Bureau. Citing PHLUSH efforts in Portland, Laughlin says Advocating for more public restrooms can be tricky. People are often too embarrassed to…
Popular Posts
The Importance of Inclusive Restroom Signage
Professional photographer Mark Chester did not intentionally find the issue of inclusivity in restroom access – the issue found him. Chester began photographing restroom signs 12 years ago. In conducting this work, Chester began pondering the relationship between signage and inclusivity. What he found is that the barriers to equitable restroom access for people across…
Tips for Creating a Successful Family Emergency Plan
The scariest thing about natural disasters is that they can happen out of nowhere so you need to be prepared. Does your family know what to do if a tornado, hurricane, or wildfire erupts around your home? In addition to creating an emergency response kit, an emergency plan is crucial to ensure your family…
There’s plenty of toilet paper in the US – so why are people hoarding it?
Almost 150 U.S. companies make toilet paper. Studio Dagdagaz/Shutterstock.com Jay L. Zagorsky, Boston University The other day I went into Costco to buy some toilet paper. It came as a small shock when I couldn’t find a single roll. The new coronavirus is inspiring panic buying of a variety of household products such as toilet paper in cities across…
Second Graders Tackle Sanitation Justice in Brooklyn, New York
July 6, 2019 This guest post from Amber Hickey, doctorate in Visual Studies and service-learning project faculty member for Service Learning Project, highlights the need to involve youth in sanitation advocacy. This past spring, 2nd graders at PS 298 in Brownsville, Brooklyn advocated for sanitation justice in their community. Participating in the youth-led Residency Program…
Let’s Legalize Composting & UD toilets in US
Our friends at Recode have drafted model code for composting toilets with urine diversion (UD) and IAMPO is preparing to vote on it. This Portland-based group of scientists and policy advocates have made spectacular progress. Now Recode is calling on us to help make history. Please consider a tax-deductible donation to enable Recode’s Director to travel to California to address IAMPO officials. Details are in…
GottaGo! campaigning for public toilets in Ottawa
This guest blog post is from Joan Kuyek of GottaGo!. The GottaGo! campaign in Ottawa, Canada’s capital city, is advocating for a network of open clean, accessible public toilets and water fountains in key places in the region. Currently, the only public toilets in Ottawa are in recreation centres, libraries and large parks. When the programming…
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