Putting public toilets on the map
• August 13, 2016
Public toilets are rarely this visible. Photo: Otto Björkman
A Wellington team is aiming to help city councils plan better by creating an application that finds and rates public toilets.
Mapoo is an application still in development. It is set to enable users to locate and rate public toilets across New Zealand. If the need is urgent or the region is remote, this can be a challenge.
The idea was inspired by the growth of both the population and the tourism industry. It started with the intention to create a link between decision-makers and the public.
The app's technical writer, Carla Morris, said the team had stumbled upon shortcomings around the city.
“In Wellington there are a few areas where people wonder why there is no public toilet. But it’s hard for city council to get that information.”
Development began at GovHack Wellington, a weekend-long race to find innovative ways of using publicly available data.
User-generated information from the application could make for better planning of future infrastructure, and find shortcomings in existing facilities.
Michael Rosenbaum, a software development student, joined the team after hearing the idea being pitched. He said they faced difficulties with finding the necessary information.
“We realised that what we wanted to make was not really possible, since there was not much data available around it.”
Six years ago, the same observations led to similar efforts by Crohn’s and Colitis New Zealand (CCNZ), a charitable trust that supports and advises people with inflammatory bowel disease.
A sponsor took up the cause after the issue was raised at an event in Parliament. The effort led to toiletmap.co.nz, a website featuring an extensive map of toilets across New Zealand.
Brian Poole, chairman of CCNZ, said they would like to bring attention to the map.
“We’re not a very big organisation but we get a lot of views on the map. The headcount has gone up a lot, and many are from overseas. People touring New Zealand want to know if there are toilets available where they’re going.”
He said the map was created as a public service, but was especially intended for the society’s members.
“Not all disabilities are obvious. The urgency to use a toilet is a disability, and New Zealand actually has the highest rate of Crohn’s disease in the world.”
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