Interpreting Inclusion for Sanitation Perspectives from India: A Contextual Approach to Universal Design

Access to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) for all is fundamental for sustenance. Goal 6 of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals urges that 'universal access to drinking water, sanitation and hygiene' is fundamental as a response in the current post-COVID scenario. Despite Government of India's efforts through programs like Swachh Bharat (Clean India) Mission, there is a long way to go to integrate equity and inclusion in the sanitation facilities of the public realm. This paper is an attempt to understand the aspect of inclusion in sanitation systems of urban public spaces of India, limiting the study to Delhi and Noida, which are in the National Capital Region (NCR). The aim is to explore the contextual challenges of universal design in public sanitation and develop an understanding of what makes a public toilet inclusive in the urban Indian context. A field-based, mixed methods approach is followed which begins with a literature review of government policies & schemes and theoretical understanding of inclusion as well as the role of universal design as an approach to achieve inclusion. This is followed by on-ground studies involving ethnographic surveys, analysis of imagery and field observations. The results show an analysis of the inclusive aspects of sanitation under the thematic domains of public perception, usage preferences and issues in the public toilet experience. The sanitation facilities in urban public spaces are used by a diverse population and the results showcase a collection of the qualitative experiences of a varied set of user groups. The subjective challenges of inclusive sanitation are highlighted through the various stages and components of the entire sanitation system - the design & infrastructure, operations & maintenance, and behavioural patterns. This paper tries to raise new grounded questions to further explore the highlighted marginal distinctions between inclusion and accessibility in the urban public sanitation experience of India.