The University of Tokyo has achieved the "toilet freedom" that Europe cannot achieve

In most of our minds, European countries have many small public toilets on the streets, providing convenient places for citizens to go to the toilet. This is indeed the case, but their public toilets look like this:

There is also this:

That's right, there are open-air public toilets on the streets. These open-air toilets on the streets are legal toilet facilities built by the local government. If you walk on the streets of Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands, you can easily record an open-air urinal with a video. Facing the streets where pedestrians come and go in a hurry, let alone how to use the toilet, how to go out, and if you get a little closer, the smell is probably unbearable.

To ask why Europe is like this, we have to talk about some of their historical problems. There are two reasons:

One is its own reason - street urinals have a history of nearly 200 years in Europe.

The second is the contrast with peers - indoor public toilets are expensive and inconvenient.

Let's first talk about the origin and development of street urinals in Europe.

In the 19th century, European people retained a bad habit - urinating and defecating anywhere, and this "feat" once made many cities completely covered with the smell of excrement, including major cities such as London and Paris.

Finally, in the spring of 1830, the Paris City Government in France decided to install the first public urinal on the main road.

This kind of open-air urinal is independent of the surrounding buildings, easy to build and dismantle, and can also provide a light public space. Therefore, in the following decades, open-air toilets developed rapidly in France.

In their heyday, there were more than 1,500 urinals on the streets of Paris, of various shapes, sizes and structures.

To this day, the bad habit of urinating and defecating in public has not disappeared from Europe despite the advancement of science and civilization. During the Paris Olympics, the Seine River almost became a "stinking river".

French internal data shows a clear number - 40% of French men have the habit of urinating and defecating in public frequently, which is so frequent that it can be photographed by Google Street View. Therefore, as long as this bad habit exists, open-air urinals will still bear the heavy responsibility.

Next, let's talk about the second problem, that indoor public toilets are expensive and inconvenient. Almost all public toilets in Europe are charged. Although public toilets in Europe are clean, most of them are charged. Either there are staff selling tickets at the door, or you need to pay coins by yourself.

Second, the store owners are unwilling to lend their toilets to others. If you want to use their toilets, you must first become their customer. For example, McDonald's will print the password for the toilet door on the receipt.

Street toilets are different. They are free and open to the public. These two points make European people still rely on street open-air toilets - all thanks to their peers.

Today, open-air toilets on the streets of Europe have been upgraded and iterated in terms of female care and toilet experience, but they are still open-air and still have to face various embarrassing scenes.

Even the smallest things can be shortcomings in urban people's livelihood. Dongda is fully aware of this. Since the "toilet revolution" started in 2017, public toilet management has been regarded as a key measure to improve people's livelihood. At this stage, a new upgrade of urban toilets has been completed. Take Shenzhen as an example:

Public toilet at Children's Square, Meilin Park, Futian District, Shenzhen. Photo provided by Shenzhen Urban Management Bureau

A small public toilet on the street of Shangbu Green Corridor in Futian District, Shenzhen. Photo provided by Shenzhen Urban Management Bureau

Shenzhen has continuously promoted the "toilet revolution" to make "convenient places" more convenient, and the toilet experience has changed from "making do" to comfortable and smooth. The renovation of public toilets ensures ventilation and lighting, sets up dry and wet partitions, optimizes the flow of toilets, etc. There is no need to say more about the "standard configuration" such as paper towels, hand sanitizer, shelves, and hand dryers. More and more barrier-free facilities, mother-and-child rooms, and third toilets are constantly being "updated". "Public toilets always have paper" has become the most resonant discussion topic for Shenzhen people returning home.

The subtleties not only reflect the refinement and warmth of urban governance, but also allow every citizen to feel a full sense of gain, happiness and security in the "key little things" around them.

We have achieved the "toilet freedom" that Europe cannot achieve! However, this "toilet revolution" is not over. The "Notice on Promoting the "Toilet Revolution" to Improve the Service Level of Urban Public Toilets" issued by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development pointed out that it is necessary to strengthen the research and development and application of new technologies. Vigorously develop environmentally friendly, water-saving, energy-saving and ecological public toilets, and improve the construction and operation level of public toilets. Use technologies such as vacuum fecal extraction to break through the cleaning problems of public toilets in areas with water shortages. Make good preparations for mobile public toilets, improve emergency response capabilities, and maintain public health safety.

Let the people get real "toilet freedom", we are still on the way.

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