No Place To Go
Описание книги
• <i>No Place To Go</i> talks about the politics of public toilets, politics that have traditionally made it more difficult for certain groups to be out in public, including women, people with health issues, etc. It's a subject you don't think much about until you're caught short, and then you realize how incredibly necessary adequate public facilities are in order for you to be able to leave your house.<br> • In 2016, the <i>New Yorker </i>called bathrooms a “civil-rights flashpoint” (https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-politics-of-bathrooms). This is no less true now than it was then. Lezlie Lowe expands the discussion of trans rights to include those with disabilities, homeless populations, and more.<br> • The conversations, particularly in Texas, around trans people's rights to use whichever restroom they prefer makes this a hot-button subject.<br> • The book discusses cities all over the world. As it turns out, the problems are pretty much the same everywhere. <br> • This book is perfect for urban planners, disability advocates, city-builders, architects, etc., but also general trade readers. The material is absolutely fascinating and changes how you look at public space.<br> • This book is remarkably FUN. Lezlie is a punny, funny writer, and it's a total delight to read. Even if you think you won't be interested in the topic, you will.
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For Lily and Georgia, whose early urban adventures started this whole thing
I brave it. My bladder’s weak, always has been. It’s not a medical condition. It’s just that, when I have to go, I really have to go. What’s more, my feeble ability to hold it far exceeds my toilet-training three-year-old’s, so daily down the stairs I tromp to give that handle a yank. Most days, it’s no go, which means a quick turnaround to head home to pee or change someone’s pants. I’ll learn later that the softball league that uses the diamonds on weekends has copies of the keys; they turn the deadbolts when they leave on Sunday evenings, lest up-to-no-good mothers like me get in and mess up the place.
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The design of the little clapboard Lunenburg public washroom is not the stuff of afterthought. It’s on a main street – Bailey: ‘That’s where the people are’ – and fits puzzle-like into the town’s architecture. Outside the building are a bench, a stone terrace, and, in season, an abundance of columbines and hostas. The interior boasts painted tiles created by one hundred elementary school students who walked the streets of their town choosing flowers, houses, sailboats, and cats to render for the bathroom, each tile its own scene. The bathroom art has been made into a series of cards sold by the Lunenburg Heritage Society. Bea Renton, Lunenburg’s chief administrative officer, tells me she gets emails from tourists in praise of the toilets.
Lunenburgers paid just over $100,000 to build their bathroom and they shell out a little over $14,000 a year to operate and maintain it during its open season, from mid-May through Halloween. It used to close in mid-October, but council voted to extend the dates based on requests from residents and will keep it open later depending on the weather and the need. Opening it all winter is an option, Bailey says, based on demand. The town can also take in revenue from the bathroom by renting space in the front lobby.
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