Abstract
Dhaka is one of the fastest-growing cities in the world with a population of 21 million. With the constantly rising inhabitants, this urbanizing hub officially only has 122 public toilets, and in reality, most of them are not functional (Sanyal, November 05, 2016). Different studies also suggested that current situations of the public toilets in the city are unusable and unhygienic. Apart from a few good ones, most toilets have filthy floors, inadequate lighting and ventilation, and unbearable odor of human waste. Although unhygienic open defecation by men is a common scene in the city, for the woman it is not an option. While the city plans to construct a few, there still will be a huge need for public toilets to meet the demand of the vast population. It is critical to realize the challenges existing and evolving from the forbidding public hygiene situation and the lack of proper public infrastructure. Understanding the user group is crucial as modern and costly toilets end up being rejected than being used. Thus the paper tries to address the problems and suggests design strategies to achieve a feasible design solution for a sustainable public toilet that supports and empowers communal hygiene. The contribution of this paper is not only to promote a design solution but how this infrastructure can integrate with the surrounding urban context. A modular prototype is proposed which is adaptable, feasible, cost-effective, easy to erect, and can be plugged into any corner of the city. Rethinking public toilets as an adaptable prototype is not only about providing proper sanitation but also encouraging people about hygiene education, awareness, and innovation. The design is conceptualized as a prefabricated self-sustainable modular unit that can be altered, increased, or decreased as per the necessity of the surrounding area.
Highlights
Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh is one of the densely inhabited cities within the world with a population of twenty-one million(app) individuals (Sakkhor, 2018)
The city itself encompasses a density of 47,400 people per square kilometer and a minimum of 1,418 people is adding to the population of Dhaka city every day (Amin, October 14, 2018)
Two to three million people reside on the streets for their livelihoods (ICDDRB, WaterAid Bangladesh, 2014) and about five and a half million people stay outdoor for other daily necessities for a mean of five to eight hours daily leaving little doubt that this huge population needs proper public toilet facilities to fulfill their demand (Shafi, Imam, Opel & Islam, July 09, 2011)
Summary
The capital city of Bangladesh is one of the densely inhabited cities within the world with a population of twenty-one million(app) individuals (Sakkhor, 2018). As per a 2017 study by ActionAid Bangladesh, in alliance with UK Aid, over 90% of public toilets operated by the city corporations are unusable Most of these were reported unsafe, 54% of these lacked sanitation facilities, and 91.5% were reported unhygienic and dirty (Shovon, May 16, 2019). Adding to the unavailability of proper sanitation facilities in public spaces, lack of safe water, sewage treatment, safe disposal of solid wastes continue to haunt Dhaka, for which the city is holding a picture of an unhygienic urban center, posing a public health risk for its millions of inhabitants (Ahamad, 2019). The paper tries to achieve a selfsustaining public sanitation system through a modular prototype design strategy that can enhance the use of public toilets and promote public health awareness, environmental sustainability, and economic prosperity
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