COURSE: ARCH 600 (INDEPENDENT STUDY) SUMMER 2021
ADVISING PROFESSOR: Cyrus Peñarroyo
PROGRAMS USED: QGIS, Google Spreadsheet, Excel, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign
PROJECT SUMMARY:
Why don’t public restrooms exist everywhere?
Through this independent study, I had initially intended to examine this question on a smaller scale by conducting a comparative study between two to three successful and unsuccessful cities. The study would have been modeled off of studies and research conducted by the NPO PHLUSH (Public Hygiene Lets Us Stay Human) and Rose George in her book “The Big Necessity: The Unmentionable World of Human Waste and Why It Matters”.
However, the project evolved as I discovered the challenges that came with the process of obtaining information from municipal agencies, let alone figuring out which agencies were responsible. Instead it became an exploratory study in which I learned about the western history of sanitation and the current status of public restrooms and sanitation in regards to human waste in the city of Los Angeles.
DEFINITION:
For this project, I defined public restrooms as restrooms that were accessible to the general public on public property managed by city or state agencies (other agencies were excluded due to limitations on time).
Why don’t public restrooms exist everywhere?
Through this independent study, I had initially intended to examine this question on a smaller scale by conducting a comparative study between two to three successful and unsuccessful cities. The study would have been modeled off of studies and research conducted by the NPO PHLUSH (Public Hygiene Lets Us Stay Human) and Rose George in her book “The Big Necessity: The Unmentionable World of Human Waste and Why It Matters”.
However, the project evolved as I discovered the challenges that came with the process of obtaining information from municipal agencies, let alone figuring out which agencies were responsible. Instead it became an exploratory study in which I learned about the western history of sanitation and the current status of public restrooms and sanitation in regards to human waste in the city of Los Angeles.
DEFINITION:
For this project, I defined public restrooms as restrooms that were accessible to the general public on public property managed by city or state agencies (other agencies were excluded due to limitations on time).
PHASE I: GATHER INFORMATION AND DATA
During this phase I gathered as much information and data as I could on public restrooms within the city of Los Angeles within a two month time frame. More specifically I learned more about which agencies were responsible for which public restrooms, all of their locations, how often they were serviced and by who, as well as what kind of data was being collected by the agencies on select public restrooms and how. This information and data was collected over a two month span through public records requests, phone calls, emails, and in person field visits.
During this phase I gathered as much information and data as I could on public restrooms within the city of Los Angeles within a two month time frame. More specifically I learned more about which agencies were responsible for which public restrooms, all of their locations, how often they were serviced and by who, as well as what kind of data was being collected by the agencies on select public restrooms and how. This information and data was collected over a two month span through public records requests, phone calls, emails, and in person field visits.
PHASE II: THE HISTORY
In order to have a better understanding of the current status of the public restrooms in Los Angeles, I thought it was important to build a foundation by learning more about the western history of sanitation first. In the process I was able to learn more about the ties between the evolution American culture and sanitation.
WORK IN PROGRESS:
I would like to note that although the project has been submitted and the course has ended this is a project I am working on further developing with the aim of sharing my work with the Reddit community at a later date. During the last two weeks of the summer term I received data on human and animal waste removal requests from the Los Angeles City Sanitation, which I also plan on cleaning, analyzing, and creating maps and other infographics for at a later date using Python and QGIS.
In order to have a better understanding of the current status of the public restrooms in Los Angeles, I thought it was important to build a foundation by learning more about the western history of sanitation first. In the process I was able to learn more about the ties between the evolution American culture and sanitation.
WORK IN PROGRESS:
I would like to note that although the project has been submitted and the course has ended this is a project I am working on further developing with the aim of sharing my work with the Reddit community at a later date. During the last two weeks of the summer term I received data on human and animal waste removal requests from the Los Angeles City Sanitation, which I also plan on cleaning, analyzing, and creating maps and other infographics for at a later date using Python and QGIS.
THE HISTORY
Although the primary focus of my study was public restrooms in Los Angeles, I thought it was important for me to have a big picture understanding of the western history of sanitation. Through this I was able to learn more about American culture and its relationship to human waste and other aspects of human health that many are not comfortable discussing openly.
EXISTING BICYCLE LANES (1/2 mile buffer)
INTERSTATE (1/2 MILE BUFFER)
MOST ACCESSIBLE PUBLIC RESTROOMS FOR ALL MODES OF TRANSPORT
(public restrooms where all buffers overlap)
(public restrooms where all buffers overlap)
MAPPING
Through a series of public records requests, emails, and phone calls over the span of two months I was able to obtain a list of public restrooms under the responsibility of the Los Angeles City Department of Recreation and Parks and Public Works. I realize that many of the public restrooms are missing, such as those that are managed by state or federal agencies. However, due to the limitations on time, I settled for mapping the public restrooms I had on file with different modes of transportation.
The city of Los Angeles talks a lot about improving the walkability of the city by improving subway lines and bikeways, but has yet to touch on the topic of improving accessibility to public restrooms a crucial factor. In mapping the public restrooms in QGIS with different modes of public and private transportation I examined which restrooms were most conveniently located. I cleaned up data received from each agency and created csv files to be used in QGIS to ease the workflow.
As Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak puts it in The Big Necessity by Rose George "Defecation is very slow. Yet when discussing it . . . one ends up discussing the whole spectrum of human behavior, national economy, politics, the role of media, cultural preferences and so forth". Early in my independent study I realized how learning about and gathering data on public restrooms would not be as simple a task as I had initially thought. In my data collection phase, I learned about FOIA and the challenges of how to make public records requests in a number of cities and about disconnects between the public, municipal agencies and departments, and the public restrooms themselves.
"How a society disposes of its human excrement is an indication of how it treats its humans too" (George 7). This project also made me realize how many communities were being underserved and how our country as a whole needs to reexamine and address the issues that surround the availability and accessibility of public restrooms as well as how our wastewater and sewer systems are being overworked.
"How a society disposes of its human excrement is an indication of how it treats its humans too" (George 7). This project also made me realize how many communities were being underserved and how our country as a whole needs to reexamine and address the issues that surround the availability and accessibility of public restrooms as well as how our wastewater and sewer systems are being overworked.
WORKS CITED
TORRES-ROUFF, DAVID S. “Water Use, Ethnic Conflict, and Infrastructure in Nineteenth-Century Los Angeles.” Pacific Historical Review, vol. 75, no. 1, 2006, pp. 119–140., https://doi.org/10.1525/phr.2006.75.1.119.
George, Rose. The Big Necessity: The Unmentionable World of Human Waste and Why It Matters. New York: Metropolitan Books, 2008. Print.
Our History, https://lacitysan.org/san/faces/home/portal/s-lsh-au/s-lsh-au-oh?_afrLoop=18717825071050208&_afrWindowMode=0&_afrWindowId=null&_adf.ctrl-state=q9y44pznw_1.
“History - Joseph Bazalgette.” BBC, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/bazalgette_joseph.shtml.
TORRES-ROUFF, DAVID S. “Water Use, Ethnic Conflict, and Infrastructure in Nineteenth-Century Los Angeles.” Pacific Historical Review, vol. 75, no. 1, 2006, pp. 119–140., https://doi.org/10.1525/phr.2006.75.1.119.
George, Rose. The Big Necessity: The Unmentionable World of Human Waste and Why It Matters. New York: Metropolitan Books, 2008. Print.
Our History, https://lacitysan.org/san/faces/home/portal/s-lsh-au/s-lsh-au-oh?_afrLoop=18717825071050208&_afrWindowMode=0&_afrWindowId=null&_adf.ctrl-state=q9y44pznw_1.
“History - Joseph Bazalgette.” BBC, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/bazalgette_joseph.shtml.