Disability Links
Design for Access 2
This second edition of the Design for Access Manual is a co-production of disabled people’s organisations in Manchester and Manchester City Council, to be used to implement best practice and provide a key resource for all public sector, voluntary sector and commercial organisations in Manchester and elsewhere. The manual sets out standards which aspire to ‘help to promote exciting, vibrant and creative accessible design’, as well as being ‘pro-active in the national debate concerning the statutory framework needed to secure access for all’.
Tangled Art + Disability
A not-for-profit arts organization and forum based in Toronto which is dedicated to enhancing opportunities for artists with disabilities to contribute to the cultural fabric of our society.
‘Talk’, a film by the Disability Rights Commission
Part 1 and part 2 are available on Youtube. A useful introduction to the social model of disability.
SHAMELESS: The ART of Disability
A film following five disabled people from B.C. to Nova Scotia, Canada, as they create and present their own images of their disabilities.
Accessible Presenting
The Disability Research Forum at Sheffield Hallam provide some useful suggestions for presenting in ways which are accessible to your audience.
The Disability Archive UK
A collection of Disability Studies documents and journal articles which have been made freely available.
Accessible Derbyshire
A website dedicated to providing information on the facilities and accessibility of various venues and areas in and around Derbyshire, including the locations of Changing Places toilets.
Trans, Queer and Gender Links
Beyond the Binary
An online magazine for UK non-binary people, with lots of useful resources including an article on toiets.
Questions on Trans Issues
CN Lester hosted a panel Q&A session on their blog, ‘answering common questions on trans issues – some 101, some a little further along’. Click here for part two of the Q&A session with a different panel, which includes a question on toilets.
Queer Muslim links
Various links to some useful blog posts on being Muslim and LGBTQ.
What It’s Like to Be Intersex
A short video discussing the experiences, identities and bodies of intersex people.
Toilet Links
The Great British Toilet Map
The Great British Public Toilet Map shows toilets that the public can use without purchasing goods. This includes those in shops, cafes, etc, if they choose to let non-customers use their loo, such as those in Community Toilet Schemes. We try not to include those that are for customer use only. The data comes from councils, businesses, the OpenStreetMap project and YOU! More info about their campaign can also be found here.
Publicly Accessible Toilet: An Inclusive Design Guide
The Inclusive Design Guide has been developed from an inclusive design philosophy. It aims to incorporate the needs, aspirations and desires of people of all ages, abilities and ethnicities, who will become the future users of its design outcomes. The guide has been developed for built environment professionals such as architects, planners and designers, and for providers of publicly accessible toilets, such as local authorities, to help them to make design decisions about their facilities.
Bog Standard Gallery
Melanie Boda is an installation and community artist who created the Bog Standard Gallery, the smallest art gallery in the world. The converted portable toilet cubicle exhibits photographs of toilet signs from around the globe. Melanie has traveled around various countries photographing these toilet signs to develop her research. The collection now spans more than 2000 images from over 10 countries.
The World of Accessible Toilets
A toilet blog dedicated to the discussion of toilet accessibility for disabled people. They’ve developed their own tool kit to help disabled people challenge toilet-related discrimination.
The Accessible Toilet Resource
The Accessible Toilet Design Resource is concerned primarily with the design of the accessible toilet cubicle that should be provided for customer or public use wherever there is standard toilet provision. Though it may make reference to other types of toilet cubicles, urinals, automatic public conveniences (APCs) or grouped toilet provision, the location and design of these facilities are not addressed in great detail here. The location and design of accessible toilet facilities merits this independent, detailed scrutiny because it is essential to provide these facilities and to design them correctly, so that disabled people can participate on equal terms to able-bodied people in every aspect of city life.
A study investigating ‘the extent to which the reduced number of toilet facilities may affect the health and wellbeing of lorry drivers’. More information on the project also available here.
Design Links
The Disobedient Objects Exhibition
An exhibition held at the V&A which examined ‘the powerful role of objects in movements for social change’. The website includes a useful blog and some other resources on political activism and design ingenuity.
The Future of Design: What Makes a Designer Age-friendly?
Sophie Handler, Chair of the RIBA Working Group on Research and Ageing, asks what we actually mean by Age-friendly design, how designers (can) practice Age-friendly principles, and what constitutes an Age-friendly designer.
Our Community Partners
Action for Trans* Health
One of the community partners on the Around the Toilet project, the Manchester-based organization seeks to improve trans* people’s access to healthcare.
Queer of the Unknown
A Manchester-based queer arts collective who are one of the of the community partners on the Around the Toilet project. Their work primarily focuses on gender, sexuality, disability, space and identity, through spoken word and other media. They run spoken word and poetry night with an open mic night, as well as performing live at events.
The Greater Manchester Coalition of Disabled People
A campaign organisation for the inclusion of all disabled people, which is run and controlled by disabled people. One of the community partners on the Around the Toilet project.
Other Useful Resources
Genderpoo
A poster/card/art series on toilet signage created by Coco Riot. Watch this animation to see some of Genderpoo’s images or click here for more information.
People in Search of Safe and Accessible Restrooms (PISSAR)
A coalition group of genderqueer and disability activists, started by students at the University of California, Santa Barbara, who are dedicated to securing accessible and safe toilets to accommodate non-normative bodies.
Around the Toilet 