Public Toilets in Brussels' Public Spaces: Necessity or Nuisance?

For public spaces to be both accessible and hospitable, the provision of good quality public toilets is essential. This is particularly true for women as well as more specific groups, including older adults, people with health conditions or impairments, and those experiencing homelessness. Despite t...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Lien Maes, Lucas Melgaço
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Université libre de Bruxelles - ULB 2023-11-01
Series:Brussels Studies
Subjects:
Online Access:http://journals.openedition.org/brussels/7123
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849253366765453312
author Lien Maes
Lucas Melgaço
author_facet Lien Maes
Lucas Melgaço
author_sort Lien Maes
collection DOAJ
description For public spaces to be both accessible and hospitable, the provision of good quality public toilets is essential. This is particularly true for women as well as more specific groups, including older adults, people with health conditions or impairments, and those experiencing homelessness. Despite their importance, public toilets commonly conjure notions of dirtiness and nuisance, or of spaces used for purposes for which they were not intended, such as drug use, sexual encounters or shelter. Public toilets, therefore, reflect the complexity of shared public spaces. With a focus on Brussels, relevant authorities and organisations were interviewed, and on-site observations were carried out to explore the importance of public toilets for public spaces. The article is attentive to the nuisances linked to public toilets, and the difficulties in generating effective responses to their so-called misuse.
format Article
id doaj-art-734fda1bbada4bc4b00caa94c89bd717
institution Kabale University
issn 2031-0293
language English
publishDate 2023-11-01
publisher Université libre de Bruxelles - ULB
record_format Article
series Brussels Studies
spelling doaj-art-734fda1bbada4bc4b00caa94c89bd7172025-08-20T03:56:23ZengUniversité libre de Bruxelles - ULBBrussels Studies2031-02932023-11-0110.4000/brussels.7123Public Toilets in Brussels' Public Spaces: Necessity or Nuisance?Lien MaesLucas MelgaçoFor public spaces to be both accessible and hospitable, the provision of good quality public toilets is essential. This is particularly true for women as well as more specific groups, including older adults, people with health conditions or impairments, and those experiencing homelessness. Despite their importance, public toilets commonly conjure notions of dirtiness and nuisance, or of spaces used for purposes for which they were not intended, such as drug use, sexual encounters or shelter. Public toilets, therefore, reflect the complexity of shared public spaces. With a focus on Brussels, relevant authorities and organisations were interviewed, and on-site observations were carried out to explore the importance of public toilets for public spaces. The article is attentive to the nuisances linked to public toilets, and the difficulties in generating effective responses to their so-called misuse.http://journals.openedition.org/brussels/7123incivilitiesnorth quarterpublic spacesocial inequalities
spellingShingle Lien Maes
Lucas Melgaço
Public Toilets in Brussels' Public Spaces: Necessity or Nuisance?
Brussels Studies
incivilities
north quarter
public space
social inequalities
title Public Toilets in Brussels' Public Spaces: Necessity or Nuisance?
title_full Public Toilets in Brussels' Public Spaces: Necessity or Nuisance?
title_fullStr Public Toilets in Brussels' Public Spaces: Necessity or Nuisance?
title_full_unstemmed Public Toilets in Brussels' Public Spaces: Necessity or Nuisance?
title_short Public Toilets in Brussels' Public Spaces: Necessity or Nuisance?
title_sort public toilets in brussels public spaces necessity or nuisance
topic incivilities
north quarter
public space
social inequalities
url http://journals.openedition.org/brussels/7123
work_keys_str_mv AT lienmaes publictoiletsinbrusselspublicspacesnecessityornuisance
AT lucasmelgaco publictoiletsinbrusselspublicspacesnecessityornuisance