Seattle is closing the lid on a disappointing experiment with public toilets after spending $5 million dollars to install them. Cities from Boston to San Francisco have had mixed results with automated toilets, The New York Times reports.
"In the end, the restrooms, installed in early 2004, had become so filthy, so overrun with drug abusers and prostitutes, that although use was free of charge, even some of the city's most destitute people refused to step inside them.
The units were put up for sale Wednesday afternoon on eBay, with a starting bid set by the city at $89,000 apiece.
The dismal outcome coincides with plans by New York, Los Angeles and Boston, among other cities, to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars for expansion this fall in their installation of automated toilets - stand-alone structures with metal doors that open at the press of a button and stay closed for up to 20 minutes. The units clean themselves after each use, disinfecting the seats and power-washing the floors."
FULL STORY: Seattle’s Automated Toilets Go Way of the Box and Chain
Futuristic Public Toilets Coming to San Francisco
San Francisco's street furniture predates Google, but the city hopes a new design will bring it into the Information Age.
Public Toilets Continue to Foil New York City’s Bureaucracy
In 2006, New York City signed contracts for private-public partnerships that would deliver a variety of street furniture throughout the city. To date, 3,355 bus shelters, 304 newsstands, and three (3) public toilets have been built.
Creative Ways to Activate Roofless Buildings and Vacant Lots
Pocket parks aren’t the only way to repurpose underused urban spaces.
Study: Maui’s Plan to Convert Vacation Rentals to Long-Term Housing Could Cause Nearly $1 Billion Economic Loss
The plan would reduce visitor accommodation by 25,% resulting in 1,900 jobs lost.
North Texas Transit Leaders Tout Benefits of TOD for Growing Region
At a summit focused on transit-oriented development, policymakers discussed how North Texas’ expanded light rail system can serve as a tool for economic growth.
Using Old Oil and Gas Wells for Green Energy Storage
Penn State researchers have found that repurposing abandoned oil and gas wells for geothermal-assisted compressed-air energy storage can boost efficiency, reduce environmental risks, and support clean energy and job transitions.
How Madison’s Tree Planting Efforts Are Growing a Healthier Community
Madison’s annual tree planting initiative is enhancing environmental resilience, public health, and community livability by adding 1,400 carefully selected trees citywide, with strong community and institutional support for urban forestry.
Texas State Bills Could Kill Transit Funding in Dallas, Austin
State lawmakers could pull funding from the state’s largest transit agency and the ambitious Project Connect, a voter-approved transit project in Austin.
Opinion: DC Encampment Sweeps Hide, but Don’t Solve, Homelessness
President Trump recently ordered the clearing of encampments built by unhoused people on federal land in Washington, D.C.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Ascent Environmental
Borough of Carlisle
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service