Privatization of public toilets

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Privatization of public toilets is an ongoing process in the United States and other countries. Police (e.g. in Los Angeles) have sometimes supported their privatization, claiming that public toilets are "crime scenes" that attract illegal activity.[ citation needed ]

Privatization can mean different things including moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when a heavily regulated private company or industry becomes less regulated. Government functions and services may also be privatized; in this case, private entities are tasked with the implementation of government programs or performance of government services that had previously been the purview of state-run agencies. Some examples include revenue collection, law enforcement, and prison management.

Public toilet A room or building with toilets available for use by the general public

A public toilet is a room or small building with toilets that does not belong to a particular household. Rather, the toilet is available for use by the general public, customers, travellers, employees of a business, school pupils, prisoners etc. Public toilets are commonly separated into male and female facilities, although some are unisex, especially for small or single-occupancy public toilets. Increasingly, public toilets are accessible to people with disabilities. Public toilets are known by many other names depending on the country. Examples are: restroom, bathroom, men's room, women's room in the US, washroom in Canada, and toilets, lavatories, water closet (W.C.), ladies and gents in Europe.

A criticism of toilet privatization is that it results in the denial of a basic service to the urban poor. [1] In southern California in the 1980s, authorities consciously reduced the number of public toilets to make certain areas less attractive to "undesirables". [2]

In some cases, partial privatization of the toilet system takes place in the form of vendors supplying the service in exchange for advertising rights. Mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg described such a deal as a "unique opportunity to...creat[e] a vibrant and aesthetically pleasing streetscape…without the burden of public investment." [3]

Mayor of New York City head of the executive branch of New York Citys government

The Mayor of the City of New York is head of the executive branch of the Government of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property, police and fire protection, most public agencies, and enforces all city and state laws within New York City.

Michael Bloomberg American businessman and politician, former mayor of New York City

Michael Rubens Bloomberg KBE is an American businessman, politician, author, and philanthropist. As of April 2019, his net worth was estimated at $62.1 billion, making him the 6th-richest person in the United States and the 9th richest person in the world. He has joined The Giving Pledge, whereby billionaires pledge to give away at least half of their wealth. To date, Bloomberg has given away $8.2 billion, including his November 2018 $1.8 billion gift to Johns Hopkins University for student aid — the largest private donation ever made to a higher education institution.

John Stossel points out that private property may be better taken care of than public property: "Think about shared public property, like public toilets. They're often gross...Compare dirty public toilets to privately run toilets. They're common in Europe, and cleaner, because their owners – selfishly seeking a profit – work at keeping them clean." [4]

John Stossel American consumer reporter, investigative journalist, author and libertarian columnist

John Frank Stossel is an American consumer television personality, author, and libertarian pundit, known for his career on both ABC News and Fox Business Channel.

Private property legal designation of the ownership of property by non-governmental legal entities

Private property is a legal designation for the ownership of property by non-governmental legal entities. Private property is distinguishable from public property, which is owned by a state entity; and from collective property, which is owned by a group of non-governmental entities. Private property can be either personal property or capital goods. Private property is a legal concept defined and enforced by a country's political system.

Public property is property that is dedicated to public use and is a subset of state property. The term may be used either to describe the use to which the property is put, or to describe the character of its ownership. This is in contrast to private property, owned by an individual person or artificial entities that represent the financial interests of persons, such as corporations. State ownership, also called public ownership, government ownership or state property, are property interests that are vested in the state, rather than an individual or communities.

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Ownership is the state or fact of exclusive rights and control over property, which may be an object, land/real estate or intellectual property. Ownership involves multiple rights, collectively referred to as title, which may be separated and held by different parties.

Bathroom A room for personal hygiene activities, such as showering

A bathroom is a room in the home or hotel for personal hygiene activities, generally containing a toilet, a sink (basin) and either a bathtub, a shower, or both. In some countries, the toilet is usually included in the bathroom, whereas other cultures consider this insanitary or impractical, and give that fixture a room of its own. The toilet may even be outside of the home in the case of pit latrines. It may also be a question of available space in the house whether the toilet is included in the bathroom or not.

Public space places for public use

A public space is a place that is generally open and accessible to people. Roads, public squares, parks and beaches are typically considered public space. To a limited extent, government buildings which are open to the public, such as public libraries are public spaces, although they tend to have restricted areas and greater limits upon use. Although not considered public space, privately owned buildings or property visible from sidewalks and public thoroughfares may affect the public visual landscape, for example, by outdoor advertising. Recently, the concept of Shared space has been advanced to enhance the experience of pedestrians in public space jointly used by automobiles and other vehicles.

Outhouse Small structure, separate from a main building, which covers a toilets

An outhouse, also known by many other names, is a small structure, separate from a main building, which covers a toilet. This is typically either a pit latrine or a bucket toilet, but other forms of dry (non-flushing) toilets may be encountered. The term may also be used to denote the toilet itself, not just the structure itself.

Great Camp Sagamore

Great Camp Sagamore is one of several historic Great Camps located in the Adirondack Mountains of northern New York State.

Composting toilet A type of toilet that treats human excreta by a biological process called composting

A composting toilet is a type of toilet that treats human excreta by a biological process called composting. This process leads to the decomposition of organic matter and turns human excreta into compost. It is carried out by microorganisms under controlled aerobic conditions. Most composting toilets use no water for flushing and are therefore "dry toilets".

Pay toilet

A pay toilet is a public toilet that requires the user to pay. It may be street furniture or be inside a building, e.g. a shopping mall, department store, or railway station. The reason for charging money is usually for the maintenance of the equipment. Paying to use a toilet can be traced back almost 2000 years, to the first century AD.

Kelo v. City of New London, 545 U.S. 469 (2005), was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States involving the use of eminent domain to transfer land from one private owner to another private owner to further economic development. In a 5–4 decision, the Court held that the general benefits a community enjoyed from economic growth qualified private redevelopment plans as a permissible "public use" under the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment.

National Natural Landmark national natural areas program in the United States

The National Natural Landmarks (NNL) Program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only national natural areas program that identifies and recognizes the best examples of biological and geological features in both public and private ownership. The program was established on May 18, 1962, by United States Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall.

Unisex public toilet Public toilets that are not separated by gender

The term unisex public toilets is meant to refer herein to public toilets that are not separated by gender or sex. Unisex public toilets can be designed to benefit a range of people with or without special needs, for example people with disabilities, the elderly, and anyone who needs the help of someone of another gender or sex. They are also valuable for parents wishing to accompany one or more of their children needing a toilet facility.

Zuccotti Park public park and square in New York City

Zuccotti Park, formerly called Liberty Plaza Park, is a 33,000-square-foot (3,100 m2) publicly accessible park in Lower Manhattan, New York City, located in a privately owned public space (POPS) controlled by Brookfield Properties and Goldman Sachs. The park was created in 1968 by Pittsburgh-based United States Steel, after the property owners negotiated its creation with city officials. It was named Liberty Plaza Park because it was situated beside One Liberty Plaza, which is located between Broadway, Trinity Place, Liberty Street, and Cedar Street. The park's northwest corner is across the street from Four World Trade Center. It has been popular with local tourists and financial workers.

Toilet Piece of hardware for the collection of disposal of human excreta

A toilet is a piece of hardware used for the collection or disposal of human urine and feces. In other words: "Toilets are sanitation facilities at the user interface that allow the safe and convenient urination and defecation". Toilets can be with or without flushing water. They can be set up for a sitting posture or for a squatting posture. Flush toilets are usually connected to a sewer system in urban areas and to septic tanks in less built-up areas. Dry toilets are connected to a pit, removable container, composting chamber, or other storage and treatment device. Toilets are commonly made of ceramic (porcelain), concrete, plastic, or wood.

The Empire Hotel (New York City)

The Empire Hotel is a boutique hotel located along West 63rd Street, in the New York City borough of Manhattan.

Open defecation is the human practice of defecating outside rather than into a toilet. People may choose fields, bushes, forests, ditches, streets, canals or other open space for defecation. They do so because either they do not have a toilet readily accessible or due to traditional cultural practices. The practice is common where sanitation infrastructure and services are not available. Even if toilets are available, behavior change efforts may still be needed to promote the use of toilets. The term "open defecation free" (ODF) is used to describe communities that have shifted to using a toilet instead of open defecation. This can happen for example after community-led total sanitation programs have been implemented.

Mikiki Shopping mall in Hong Kong

Mikiki is a shopping centre in San Po Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong. It is owned by Sun Hung Kai Properties. Mikiki is directly connected to The Latitude, a private housing estate that was also developed by Sun Hung Kai Properties. Mikiki does not have a Chinese name, and its English name is based on the Japanese word for "knowledge". Mikiki covers an area of 200,000 square feet and has been opened to the general public since July 2011. Its official opening date was on October the 30th of the same year. The mall is managed by Sun Hung Kai Properties and Hong Yip Service Co Ltd.

The Libertarian presidential debates were a series of political debates between the Libertarian candidates for president in the 2016 presidential election.

References

  1. ↑ The Militarization and Privatization of Public Space.
  2. ↑ Schulman, Bruce J. The Seventies: The Great Shift in American Culture, Society, and Politics.
  3. ↑ Zaitchik, Alexander. Sidewalk Sale Archived 2008-01-20 at the Wayback Machine .. New York Press.
  4. ↑ Stossel's "Myths, Lies and Nasty Behavior". ABC News.
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