The culture of conveniences

Abstract

Despite thousands of years of toilet culture and technology, and despite the obvious benefits of sanitation for health and well-being, the great majority of people alive today do not have access to a safe system for removing human waste. The installation of safe sanitary systems depends on cooperation among many kinds of providers and users. Their collective goal is to align the benefits for health with personal and social preferences for toilet use and hygiene, while exploiting other benefits from agriculture, energy, education, environmental protection, housing, and flood protection. For individuals, families, and communities, toilets are not merely, or even mainly, to protect health. Rather, their acceptability hinges on convenience, privacy, personal safety, and dignity, where preferences are rooted in societal norms. Providing safe sanitation for all is not merely a health intervention: it is one of the mutually reinforcing processes of cultural, social, and economic development.