Great piece. Enforcement really only works when infrastructure exists to make enforcement necessary in rare cases. Hard to enforce speed limits when the roads are so wide that many people speed. Hard to enforce bathroom norms when there are so few restrooms
Japan’s restrooms and associated social norms sound like the platonic ideal, but I’d happily take ubiquitous European pay toilets over nonexistent American toilets
I live in the Pacific Northwest near Seattle. Many public toilets range from off-putting to outright disgusting. Some businesses have taken to locking their restrooms; in some cases you have to ask for a code, in others a staff member must let you in. Some people turn tricks and shoot up in public restrooms. In public (obviously not in businesses) I favor pay toilets. That way I could be assured of cleanliness, at least I hope so. However, especially on the part of the "homeless," there is such a sense of entitlement, there would be outrage and probably damage to the structures. Plus it would by hugely unpalatable politically. I think a cultural change would be necessary in my part of the country before we could address cleaner, safer toilets. I agree with what you said about basic civic infrastructure being viewed as a social safety net, which is sad, and doesn't help anyone.
Thanks, Maryallene! I think our views on urban disorder more generally need to change, as do housing (and other) policies that exacerbate these problems.
Blame these Ohioans. We used to have clean toilets everywhere in the cities, many of them free. But like "progressives" everywhere they wanted them _all_ to be free. Thus, we have none.
I, too, was amazed by Japanese bathrooms on my recent trip. Not only were they spotlessly clean (even in subway stations), but many had heated toilet seats! It took me about a week to adjust when I returned to NYC lol!
I didn’t think you were criticizing. I should have been clearer; I’d take pay toilets here over our current system any day, as long as they were clean and well maintained!
Ha, I think *I* should have been clearer. During editing, I cut a clause that indicated that the paywall means they remain clean and available, which is infinitely better than having none at all. Since two of my most reliable readers flagged it, I put the clause back into the essay.
This is a hard one for me. Everything is already too expensive and no one wants to raise tax the affluent. Or we rely on their private foundations instead to fund things such as libraries and parks. NYC spent $115 billion last fiscal year; now it might spend $127 billion this FY. Is there a way to build certain infrastructure efficiently and sensitively? I think the Empire State Building went up in a little over 18 months. That was efficient. What was insensitive was tearing down the original Waldorf Astoria Hotel. A real DOGE is about getting things done, and not cutting jobs.
Yes, this wasn't exactly a call to spend more money on infrastructure, but to call out how we’ve made relatively simple public amenities unusually difficult and expensive to provide—and how that's been to the detriment of public life. I think there is a way to build infrastructure better: I'm glad to see NYC has adopted ELURP and that the state is looking at SEQR reform—these reforms will help. But I also think NYC does not always get the best ROI for its money. A real "urban DOGE" would focus on getting the *right* things done *well.*
Strongly agree. providing exceptional public goods also produces a paradigm shift which results in more exceptional public goods. These public infrastructure investments are also cultural investments.
Good Lord, I just got to this line “most of the restrooms in New York City’s subway stations remain conspicuously padlocked.” If you are ever in the NYC metro and there is a restroom that is not padlocked, do NOT go inside. I can only imagine the horrors.
Great piece. Enforcement really only works when infrastructure exists to make enforcement necessary in rare cases. Hard to enforce speed limits when the roads are so wide that many people speed. Hard to enforce bathroom norms when there are so few restrooms
Japan’s restrooms and associated social norms sound like the platonic ideal, but I’d happily take ubiquitous European pay toilets over nonexistent American toilets
Thanks! Yes, and you’ve identified the chicken-and-egg root of the problem. Good infrastructure incentivizes better (self-correcting) behavior.
I live in the Pacific Northwest near Seattle. Many public toilets range from off-putting to outright disgusting. Some businesses have taken to locking their restrooms; in some cases you have to ask for a code, in others a staff member must let you in. Some people turn tricks and shoot up in public restrooms. In public (obviously not in businesses) I favor pay toilets. That way I could be assured of cleanliness, at least I hope so. However, especially on the part of the "homeless," there is such a sense of entitlement, there would be outrage and probably damage to the structures. Plus it would by hugely unpalatable politically. I think a cultural change would be necessary in my part of the country before we could address cleaner, safer toilets. I agree with what you said about basic civic infrastructure being viewed as a social safety net, which is sad, and doesn't help anyone.
Thanks, Maryallene! I think our views on urban disorder more generally need to change, as do housing (and other) policies that exacerbate these problems.
Blame these Ohioans. We used to have clean toilets everywhere in the cities, many of them free. But like "progressives" everywhere they wanted them _all_ to be free. Thus, we have none.
https://apnews.com/general-news-3b2787ac6c32405e8cd7aafe8789cd8e
I, too, was amazed by Japanese bathrooms on my recent trip. Not only were they spotlessly clean (even in subway stations), but many had heated toilet seats! It took me about a week to adjust when I returned to NYC lol!
Ha! Regular toilets seem so primitive once you've experienced the robo-toilets.
I was fine with safe, clean European pay toilets on my trip to Scandinavia and to other places. I look forward even more to Japan this fall.
I didn’t intend to criticize them, only to point out that they are less available than they used to be. The paywall means they still exist!
I didn’t think you were criticizing. I should have been clearer; I’d take pay toilets here over our current system any day, as long as they were clean and well maintained!
Ha, I think *I* should have been clearer. During editing, I cut a clause that indicated that the paywall means they remain clean and available, which is infinitely better than having none at all. Since two of my most reliable readers flagged it, I put the clause back into the essay.
😂
Thank you for this article. And if you haven't seen the Japanese film, Perfect Days, you definitely should.
Oh, you’re welcome! Thank you for the recommendation!
This is a hard one for me. Everything is already too expensive and no one wants to raise tax the affluent. Or we rely on their private foundations instead to fund things such as libraries and parks. NYC spent $115 billion last fiscal year; now it might spend $127 billion this FY. Is there a way to build certain infrastructure efficiently and sensitively? I think the Empire State Building went up in a little over 18 months. That was efficient. What was insensitive was tearing down the original Waldorf Astoria Hotel. A real DOGE is about getting things done, and not cutting jobs.
Yes, this wasn't exactly a call to spend more money on infrastructure, but to call out how we’ve made relatively simple public amenities unusually difficult and expensive to provide—and how that's been to the detriment of public life. I think there is a way to build infrastructure better: I'm glad to see NYC has adopted ELURP and that the state is looking at SEQR reform—these reforms will help. But I also think NYC does not always get the best ROI for its money. A real "urban DOGE" would focus on getting the *right* things done *well.*
Strongly agree. providing exceptional public goods also produces a paradigm shift which results in more exceptional public goods. These public infrastructure investments are also cultural investments.
I enjoyed the allusion to Ozymandias. :)
It's a standard 'pick two' situation. You can have:
1. decent public toilets (and other public spaces)
2. low cost housing
3. tolerate the homeless
You'll get the two you pick and the opposite of the one you don't.
Of course, we've chosen not to do 1 or 2, and so we don’t tolerate 3.
The idea of entering the public restrooms in Washington Square Park shocks and appalls me. I’ve never been inside and never plan to.
Good Lord, I just got to this line “most of the restrooms in New York City’s subway stations remain conspicuously padlocked.” If you are ever in the NYC metro and there is a restroom that is not padlocked, do NOT go inside. I can only imagine the horrors.