Re-Envisioning Public Bathrooms
Our commitment to rethinking New York City's public bathroom system has driven extensive research, planning, and design, all aimed at meeting the needs of our most vulnerable residents. After years of being overlooked and a major public health crisis, this essential issue is now a priority, and we're dedicated to making sure New Yorkers have access to safe, clean public bathrooms, essential to the health, equity, and dignity of our city. Thank you to the Urban Design Forum, Architectural League and New York State Council of the Arts for supporting our work.
Imagine public bathroom access in our storefronts and retail space making our public realm accessible to all New Yorkers.
Envision public bathrooms that contribute to urban cooling and are integral in the city’s resilient strategies.
Imagine addressing the loneliness epidemic and fostering community by enhancing access to public open spaces.
City-Wide Bathroom Strategy.
Our 2024 publication, Citywide Bathroom Strategy, revisits public bathrooms in the post-pandemic era and proposes innovative, cost-effective strategies to support Intro 0694-2024, a public bathroom bill proposed by Councilmember Sandy Nurse, which aims to expand our public bathroom network from 1,000 to 4,000 bathrooms by 2035. It examines how we can leverage our public buildings, foster public-private partnerships, and re-evaluate how we implement standalone public bathrooms to create a comprehensive, cost-effective, high-quality, well-maintained, safe, and equitable public bathroom system for the health, well-being, and dignity of New Yorkers. See link below for our publication as well as our Urban Omnibus article, Where can the Public Bathrooms Go in New York City?
The Need for Public Bathrooms.
Our 2020 publication, The Need for Public Bathrooms, examined New York City's existing public bathroom system and revealed that there are approximately 1,000 facilities serving 8.5 million residents and 60 million annual tourists, with only 2 that are open 24/7. The report explored various bathroom typologies, drew on international precedents for inspiration, and offered design guidelines to improve our city's approach. See link below for our publication as well as our Urban Omnibus article, Where are the Public Bathrooms in New York City?