Why a Latte for the Loo Could Be a Problem

A latte for the loo?

Starbucks’s CEO recently said staff safety would be the reason for a possible policy switch to only customers using cafe bathrooms.

The decision could create a problem in NYC.

Public Toilets

In NYC, the public toilet to resident ratio is 1103 to 8.4 million (plus 60 million tourists). Compared to other U.S. cities, New York is number 93. The city is trying to solve the problem with a city council proposal that guarantees a public toilet in each of the city’s 168 zip codes.

It’s not quite as easy as it sounds.

The money could be an issue. At tens of millions of dollars, the city could have a massive opportunity cost. Allocating that much money to toilets could mean major sacrifices elsewhere.

In addition, there are design considerations. Tokyo recently installed state-of-the-art transparent toilet stalls. Once locked, the glass turns opaque. While the see-through lets you know it is clean before entering, they are expensive and a nightmare if they malfunction:

Our Bottom Line: Equity

Potty proliferation takes us beyond aesthetics to inclusion and power in public spaces. It also relates to public/private questions.

For centuries, the bathroom has been the scene of equity battles. During the 19th century (and much more recently), women were shortchanged because men believed they belonged at home. Correspondingly, although women had been in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1917, it took 94 years for us to get a nearby restroom.

In the movie Hidden Figures, we see the indignities experienced by female Black scientists during the 1960s in Virginia. Although their brains were crucial for the success of NASA’s space program, they still had to do a half-mile sprint to the “colored ladies room.”

Similarly, transgender people are excluded from public restrooms. In a 99% Invisible podcast, we meet Sandy. Nonbinary and transgender, Sandy looks neither male nor female. Consequently, ladies and men’s bathrooms are unpleasant and risky places.

And finally, returning to Starbucks, we can ask if it is truly their responsibility to provide our public restrooms.

My sources and more: Adding facts to our past post on public bathrooms, Insider looked at recent design innovations. From there the related articles took me to Starbucks, and NYC bathrooms.

Please note that two of today’s paragraphs were in a previous econlife post.