San Francisco's public defecation map highlights a shitty situation
Wondering what that smell near the Civic Center is, San Francisco resident? As far as serious interactive maps go, Human Wasteland is one of the strangest we've seen. Created by civil-engineer-turned-web-developer Jennifer Wong, the project plots human excrement "incidents" reported by the public to SF311. Her project won an internal hacking contest for employees of a real estate website, an ironic honor considering the city's contentious housing issues. The highest concentration of crap is at a downtown alley next to the financial district, right in a high-traffic area frequented by tourists.
While the odd drunk or other soul may have had an emergency, the map is more about folks who don't have a toilet, period. According to the SF Weekly, the map (graphically) reflects the city's problems with limited, filthy public restrooms and lack of services for the homeless. So while it's amusing for non-residents and disgusting for city center dwellers or tourists, it did make me think: "Where would I go in public if I had no choice?"
