posted by Hatty

Porta Potties aren’t exactly what comes to mind when I think about art, design or culture making. But this past week, I had a chance to participate in a town hall meeting on the exciting possibilities of public toilets re-imagined for 50 or so blocks of San Francisco grittiness also known as the Tenderloin. And to my surprise, the brief presentation by this hip (and hipster looking) crew of ecologists, architects and bioengineers totally reminded me that there are more than one ways to change the world, starting with our toilets.

The Hyphae Design Lab is “a new breed of design firm, one that blurs the line between science, art and ecology.” The Community Resource Model of public restroom — it can reduce the enormous cost of waste treatment on the local level as well as beautify the streetscape — is the team’s latest project.

Granted, the larger social issues of homelessness and poverty in Tenderloin will never be addressed by a single plan of green construction. At the same time, I’m intrigued by the idea that public spaces, through tasteful aesthetics and community driven planning process, have a power to define a neighborhood.

The project has only just begun its initial process of community input. I look forward to the months ahead of hearing more about ecologically responsible toilets from the Tenderloin residents and the folks on our streets. We at Peel Pages are all about dreaming for healthier and more beautiful communities around us. Do you have stories of transformed/transforming public spaces in your neighborhood? How do you see art, design and culture making playing a role in those transformations?