As an Urban & Regional Planning graduate student, I connected with a local advocacy group in Portland drawing attention to the need for public restrooms to serve the unhoused and general public. This grew into a larger study conducted by myself and a group of planning students for the City of Portland's Office of the Mayor. Going Public! Strategies for Meeting Public Restroom Need in Portland’s Central City included outreach to 20 stakeholder groups, an in-depth evaluation of the public restroom network and recommendations to improve restroom access. The study helped lead to the design of new public restroom prototype known as the ‘Portland loo.’ The project was recognized with a Contemporary Issue Award (2007) by the American Planning Association and a Student Achievement in Planning Award (2006) by the American Planning Association's Oregon Chapter.
