View source for Privatization of public toilets

{{short description|Ongoing process in the United States and other countries}}
'''Privatization of public toilets''' is an ongoing process in the United States and other countries. Police (e.g. [[LAPD|in Los Angeles]]) have sometimes supported their [[privatization]], claiming that [[public toilet|public toilets]] are "crime scenes" that attract illegal activity.{{Citation needed|date=April 2011}} 

A criticism of toilet privatization is that it results in the denial of a basic service to the urban poor.<ref>[http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1057823 The Militarization and Privatization of Public Space].</ref>  In southern California in the 1980s, authorities consciously reduced the number of public toilets to make certain areas less attractive to "undesirables".<ref>Schulman, Bruce J. ''The Seventies: The Great Shift in American Culture, Society, and Politics''.</ref> 

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."<ref>Zaitchik, Alexander. [http://www.nypress.com/18/10/news&columns/AlexanderZaitchik.cfm Sidewalk Sale] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080120085536/http://www.nypress.com/18/10/news%26columns/AlexanderZaitchik.cfm |date=2008-01-20 }}. New York Press.</ref>

[[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."<ref>[http://www.abcnews.go.com/2020/Story?id=448934&page=5 Stossel's "Myths, Lies and Nasty Behavior"]. ABC News.</ref>

==See also==
* [[Pay toilet]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Toilets}}

[[Category:Toilets]]
[[Category:Privatization]]


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