Inclusive public toilets: best practice for placemakers
Designing Inclusive Public Toilets Wee The People, published by Bloomsbury, book cover 2025.
Making room for inclusive public toilets in cultural placemaking
Perhaps one of the hottest topics in today’s public discourse is the issue of toilets. Who can use them? Are they fit for today’s societal needs? Are there even enough? Why should we care so much?
Recently I met one of the co-authors of a new publication, Designing Inclusive Public Toilets: Wee The People, called Professor Jo-Anne Bichard. We spoke at length about her new book, and the many years of research and academic thinking that went into its creation.
It's important to note that the book, and this blog, seeks to explore how the design thinking behind public toilets maps across age, ability, neurodiversity, families and gender and how that can shape the way people are invited to interact with public places. I wanted to share some thoughts with my Tangram hat on as I know many of our clients and networks will come across this topic regularly.
As Bichard and co-author Gail Ramster, researchers at the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design at the Royal College of Art, state in Wee The People, delightfully referred to at the book launch as ‘A manifesto for bladders and bowels’ - “Toilets come with politics, rights of access, social rules and etiquette, hygiene concerns and a bad reputation.”
So, public toilets are not just about function, they are foundational to inclusion, dignity and access in a shared space. As cultural organisations, local authorities and many others start to review and reimagine the ways people experience the public realm, how the public toilets are created or designed can reveal much about who is welcomed, who is excluded, and how design decisions shape participation.
Inclusive design as placemaking
Placemaking is not simply about physical transformation. It is about fostering belonging, dignity, comfort and at its ideal, must be accessible to all. Toilets, like benches, wayfinding, or lighting are part of this social infrastructure. And yet, public toilets are frequently absent from urban strategies, heritage masterplans and cultural capital projects.
Bichard and Ramster argue that public toilets are a civic responsibility and should be considered with the same care and investment as any other form of public provision. Their research, drawn from over 20 years of design-led studies with over 500 participants, details the physical, cultural, emotional and political landscapes that affect how people navigate toileting in public life.
From shopping centres and galleries to libraries and street festivals, access to toilets shapes people’s willingness to participate. Cultural organisations are increasingly reflecting this in capital planning, access statements, and temporary event design. But consistency can still be lacking and nervousness around possible backlash can be preventative.
Whose needs are centred?
Real inclusive toilet design goes beyond the raging ‘debate’ of gender-neutral cubicles. It should consider:
Disability: Full compliance with the Equality Act is a baseline, not a benchmark. Provision for mobility impairments, invisible disabilities, chronic illnesses, stoma users, and those with fluctuating health is often inadequate. Often disabled toilets are locked, preventing swift access at all which is a huge problem.
Neurodiversity: Lighting, noise, signage, spatial predictability and queue management can create significant sensory barriers, particularly for Autistic people or those who experience sensory overwhelm.
Gender and age: From menstruation to prostate conditions, urinary frequency and care responsibilities change across life stages and genders. Of course there is also the case for gender inclusive or non-gendered cubicled toilets in general too.
Faith and culture: Hygiene practices vary globally. Bidet facilities, ablution space, modesty and privacy all factor into culturally competent design.
Family use: traditionally mothers take their children to the toilet (usually the designated women’s toilets) - how can that be addressed by including family changing facilities in the designated men’s toilets or non-gendered options.
Class and safety: People experiencing homelessness or abuse experience public toilets as sites of vulnerability or exclusion.
Bichard and Ramster emphasise that an inclusive toilet is not simply a well-designed object, but a system. One that includes location, signage, maintenance, payment, and programming. It is also a commitment to respect.
Cultural spaces taking action
Some cultural institutions are beginning to lead in this space.
The Barbican’s Changing Places toilet, offering hoists, changing benches, and more space for carers.
FACT Liverpool are redesigning their toilets to be gender-neutral, single-cubicle, and fully accessible, with clear signage and thought given to lighting and privacy.
Newham’s libraries have piloted extended toilet access hours, recognising their role as public sanctuaries, not just borrowing spaces as part of Newham’s Community Toilet Scheme.
But there is more to do. Retrofit costs, planning regulations and cultural or societal discomfort all slow progress. Yet we must ask: who do we design for? Who are we willing to inconvenience or exclude to ensure everyone can participate?
An overlooked invitation
Public toilets have the ability to invite people into space or keep them out. They say: you can stay here. You are considered. You are safe. Or not.
As a team working at the intersection of culture, property and place, we at Tangram believe that inclusive public toilets are not fringe amenities but can and should be markers of a society’s priorities, and those of your organisation.
Insight takeaway
Public toilets are critical social infrastructure. Inclusive design supports dignity, participation and access across public and cultural life. Placemakers must integrate toilet provision into every conversation about inclusion, investment and experience.