School of Health in Social Science

A Public Inconvenience

Finding solutions which maximize the design and findability of accessible toilets when travelling. The aim is to explore and define the needs of disabled people with a range of impairments to use toilet facilities while travelling.

Going to the toilet is a universal human need and a core consideration when travelling and accessing the community. Yet its private and sensitive nature renders it invisible in debates and actions to address social inclusion. Without accessible toilets, all other efforts to promote social inclusion will fall at the first hurdle. Barriers to accessing toilets while travelling can be wide-ranging and may vary from different conditions, making it difficult for the transport industry to meet these varied and often conflicting needs. 

This project asked people with a range of impairments to consider their top priorities and solutions for designing inclusive, accessible, and findable toilets that enable travel and participation. 

Us and our partners worked with a range of disabled co-researchers, gathering their own real-time, everyday experiences of finding and using toilets. By bringing together people with a range of physical and cognitive impairments their top priorities and solutions will emerge so that service providers can focus on these when designing and assessing their provision.

The final dissemination gathering included a moving and insightful play performed by a handful of the co-researchers on the project. It was a chance to share solutions and to engage with key influencers and stakeholders and launch the ‘top 10 tips’ and the audit tool. It included an exhibition of the film and photographs collected by the co-researchers to share their individual findings.

Find out more on the Toilets and Journeys website including the full project report videos and more.

Visit the Toilets and Journeys website for the latest information

 

 

Partners 

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