TOILED

Comparative research will be conducted in Rotterdam (Netherlands), Ghent (Belgium), and Ankara (Türkiye). The project will combine institutional analysis, policy mapping, ethnographic observation, participatory mapping, and approximately 150 interviews with municipalities, private toilet providers, advocacy groups, patient organisations, maintenance workers, and users, particularly older adults, homeless people, and people with disabilities or digestive illnesses. It will investigate how toilets are governed, where accessibility gaps exist, and how maintenance practices shape users’ experiences and inclusion. Local and international stakeholder forums will enable co-creation of knowledge and policy solutions with public authorities and civil society actors. The findings will be translated into academic publications, city reports, policy briefs, and a Toilet Manifesto. These outputs aim to raise awareness, inform urban policy, improve toilet governance, and ultimately strengthen the inclusiveness of urban green and social infrastructures.

TOILED is expected to generate both scientific and societal impact by promoting more inclusive, accessible, healthy, and equitable urban environments. The project will raise awareness of public toilets as essential urban infrastructure and as key enablers of access to parks, libraries, markets, and other green and social spaces. It will help place public toilet governance higher on urban policy agendas and challenge the neglect of sanitation in city planning. The project is expected to benefit groups that are most affected by inadequate toilet access, particularly older adults, homeless people, and people with disabilities or digestive illnesses. By improving understanding of toilet provisioning, accessibility, and maintenance, TOILED will provide evidence-based recommendations for municipalities and other stakeholders to support more inclusive governance practices, reduce barriers to urban participation, and help address health inequalities linked to poor sanitation access. Ultimately, TOILED aims to strengthen the resilience of urban green and social infrastructures by ensuring that everyone can use and benefit from them.