Paris is testing scenic, open-air urinals to combat the scourge of misdirected public urination

Lots of cities, maybe all cities, have issues with public urination — well-traveled neighborhoods smell like stale pee, walls become tagged with a sort of organic vandalism, and there's always the risk of public exposure of private parts. Paris is aiming to solve at least two of those problems with a new open-air urinal-planter to provide men with a more sanitary and responsible — though not private — alternative to quaint streets and scenic bridges. Dubbed the "uritrottoir" — a combination of the French words for urine and sidewalk — the red public urinals collect the pee in straw that is supposed to be transfigured into compost, sans odor. Not all locals find this solution ideal, as this Washington Post report shows:

The Paris City Council will review the pilot program in September. If they say "non," Paris could always borrow Hamburg's idea of spraying walls along its beer-soaked Reeperbahn with a water-repellant paint that rewards public urinators with a shower of their own bodily fluids. But that might be too mean for a city that prides itself on love.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up