Greeshma S

UM4000-1

Enhancing Urban Governance: Public Toilets

Himatnagar is a class II town in Sabarkantha district in the Indian state of Gujarat and is also the administrative headquarters of the community. The city developed on the bank of the river Hathmati. As a part of this studio project, the goal is to enhance the service delivery from municipality to citizens. After analyzing the existing Public Toilet facilities in the city and conducting surveys to understand the same better: proposals are made to cater to specific problems the town faces and attain safe and hygienic sanitation in the city. 

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Introduction to Himatnagar and the Public Toilet facilities in the city

It is important to understand how the people involved currently communicate with each other to finally get an understanding of the service in the city

Assessing the facilities of the city based on standards and guidelines helps set a benchmark. It also gives a clear gap in terms of O&m

Citizen surveys are an integral part of understanding the service. It confirms the notions that are formed based on assessment or shows the unawareness of benchmarks that prevail in the city

Analysis of the city based on land use and location of informal settlements further confirms the idea of the service that is getting formed by organizing the data in a particular manner.

Understanding the key issues and proving proposals to tackle those particular issues

O&M schedules, SOP's and rules all help in tightening the accountability loop

Citizen engagement and feedback are both useful for constantly updating the system for better efficiency

New toilets encourage usage of safe sanitation practices and eliminate OD spots. Graphics on facilities also propagate IEC messages

The final feasibility and timeline understanding of all proposals gives an overview of what is to be and how it could be done