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When nature calls, Boston runners, tourists and commuters are often hard-pressed to find a public bathroom.

The big picture: They became harder to access in the past two years, due to pandemic-related closures — as my friend Max Grinnell learned when he did a survey last year.

But even the restrooms that never went away aren't always well-known. So I sought out the best (or at least the most accessible) ones. 

Why it matters: "If you're a delivery driver or you're a parent with a toddler or just a normal person who needs to go to the bathroom, there isn't an easy way to find out where one is," says Amith Saligrama, a rising junior at Commonwealth School who developed his own map of public bathrooms in the Boston area.

Flashback: Boston installed one of the nation's first public toilets in 1860 because working-class men were urinating on the streets, causing public health concerns. 

While public bathrooms have become increasingly common, they have always prioritized people based on sex, gender, race and class, notes Taunya Banks, a retired University of Maryland professor who has studied bathroom access. 

These same disparities emerge when people rely on privately owned bathrooms in public-facing spaces, such as when two Black men were arrested after trying to use a Philadelphia Starbucks bathroom in 2018.

"With the increased privatization of toilets in public spaces, cities need to look more closely to see there's some equality in terms of access," Banks tells Axios.

How to find bathrooms: Saligrama's site lists public bathrooms across Greater Boston.

Boston also has its own official public bathrooms page.

Cambridge and Brookline do not appear to have public bathrooms listed on their website. (Neither city responded to emails and calls seeking comment.)

Somerville's website links to Saligrama's site.

Fire stations have public bathrooms in Boston, and they're available 24/7.

Bathrooms in some hotels, restaurants and office spaces are listed as public during the day in Boston, including the Boston Marriott Long Wharf, Chart House and Independence Wharf.

You can also use the bathroom at the New England Aquarium and the Boston Children's Museum without having to buy tickets.

The MBTA bathrooms tend to be locked or downright disgusting, with some exceptions at North Station, South Station and Back Bay Station (when the Orange Line is running). 

Plus: There are bathrooms by the public pools, as well as the shipping-container-turned-bathroom in Boston Common.

Yes, but: They tend to close outside of summer.

The bottom line: Boston has public bathrooms; you just need to know where to look.

Navigating Boston's public bathrooms

Bathrooms became harder to find in the past two years due to pandemic-related closures.

The bathrooms appear to the right of the Boston Long Wharf Marriott hotel entrance.

Long Wharf has waterfront views, green space and (most importantly) public bathrooms. Photo: Steph Solis/Axios

When nature calls, Boston runners, tourists and commuters are often hard-pressed to find a public bathroom.The big picture: They became harder to access in the past two years, due to pandemic-related closures — as my friend Max Grinnell learned when he did <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="a survey" data-vars-click-url="https://digboston.com/a-tale-of-six-public-bathrooms-in-boston/" data-vars-content-id="608e5f8b-9aa4-4ad8-8938-d8721e7a7f12" data-vars-headline="Navigating Boston&#x27;s public bathrooms" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://digboston.com/a-tale-of-six-public-bathrooms-in-boston/" target="_blank">a survey</a> last year.

News

Massachusetts cities and towns are prioritizing bus lanes, offering EV chargers and installing solar panels. These and other steps are being taken to reduce their carbon footprints, according to an annual report on how local communities are going green. 

What's happening: The Environment Massachusetts Research & Policy Center highlighted a handful of Boston-area communities that are leading the way to transition to clean energy in its "Renewable Communities" report, released last week.

Why it matters: Massachusetts has until 2050 to reduce its carbon emissions by 100% of its 1990 levels.

City officials, working with National Grid, are adding 16 electric vehicle chargers to utility poles for curbside use this year. 

It's the first project on the East Coast to install chargers on utility poles, which is less expensive than in-ground installations. 

The new stations make EV charging accessible to motorists who live in apartments or condos, and thus might not have a driveway or garage where they could install a home charging system.

How it works: The chargers tap into the power lines overhead.

Drivers use the AmpUp smartphone app to check in and pay for the charging.

The average session costs $2.78, according to National Grid, though vehicles tend to cost $6 to fully charge. 

Context: The chargers come as a new climate law, which the governor signed last week, offers rebates for EV purchases.

Price tag: City officials and National Grid did not disclose the cost, except to say that National Grid is helping cover it as part of its Electric Vehicle Charging Station program.

The MBTA and city officials introduced center-running bus lanes last October on Columbus Avenue — the first of their kind in New England.

The lanes give MBTA buses more room to travel, reducing traffic-related delays, in hopes that riders will opt for public transit instead of ridesharing or driving.

The red-coated bus lanes run between Walnut Street and Jackson Square, along part of the 22, 29 and 44 bus routes.

Price tag: $14 million (Boston paid $1 million and the MBTA paid the rest).

Yes, and: The city is looking into creating center-running bus lanes on Blue Hill Avenue.

City officials in May announced a pilot program with the nonprofit Green Roots to increase rooftop solar energy and battery storage in East Boston, a majority-immigrant and working-class neighborhood. 

Under the program, homeowners can get a 15% discount on installation costs, and certain homeowners can get subsidies.

Why it matters: Using rooftop solar panels reduces greenhouse gas emissions, and can reduce energy costs.

The panels can also produce extra electricity that can be used to help meet demand during peak energy hours. 

So far, 38 households have expressed interest in solar panels as of early August, according to a presentation from Kate England, the city's director of green infrastructure. But most haven't signed contracts to move forward with installation.

Price tag: Neither the report nor city officials disclosed the cost of the pilot program.

Brookline updated the plans for its new District School, which is set to open in 2023, to include a geothermal pump system for heating and cooling.

Unlike air-source heat pumps, which use air from outside to heat or cool a building, geothermal pumps rely on groundwater and underground air. 

Proponents say air temperatures underground tend to be more stable than outside air temperatures — especially during severe winter weather or heat waves — and need less energy to heat or cool a building.

Price tag: Town meeting members agreed to borrow $4.9 million last October to install the heating system.

The heat pump project is expected to pay for itself in 21 years, per the Brookline School Committee.

Fun fact: The town estimates the heat pumps will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 188,000 kilograms a year.

That's the equivalent of 36.6 homes' electricity use for a year, per the EPA's greenhouse gas equivalencies calculator.

How the Boston area is weaning off fossil fuels

Cities and towns are prioritizing bus lanes, offering EV chargers and installing solar panels.

An MBTA worker drives the bus on a center-running bus lane on Columbus Avenue in Boston.

The center-running bus lanes on Columbus Avenue were the first to appear in New England. Photo: David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

Massachusetts cities and towns are prioritizing bus lanes, offering EV chargers and installing solar panels. These and other steps are being taken to reduce their carbon footprints, according to an annual report on how local communities are going green. What&#x27;s happening: The Environment Massachusetts Research &amp; Policy Center highlighted a handful of Boston-area communities that are leading the way to transition to clean energy in its &quot;<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Renewable Communities&quot; report" data-vars-click-url="https://environmentmassachusettscenter.org/reports/mac/renewable-communities-2022" data-vars-content-id="69abc7fc-36c2-4436-9f63-d36091f8bb60" data-vars-headline="How the Boston area is weaning off fossil fuels" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://environmentmassachusettscenter.org/reports/mac/renewable-communities-2022" target="_blank">Renewable Communities&quot; report</a>, released last week.

Boston is one of the top cities for mixed-use housing, second only to New York City when it comes to new construction that includes residential, office and retail space.

What's happening: A total of 6,400 mixed-use apartments have been completed in Boston since 2012, per a report from RentCafe, a nationwide apartment search website.

Why it matters: Rental communities that include residential, office and retail space gained a foothold in the last decade, especially as the pandemic heightened renters' preference for having daily activities close at hand, the report found.

Zoom in: One of the best-known examples is Millennium Tower, the luxury mixed-use development that opened in 2016 with more than 400 luxury condominiums. 

One of these units will set you back a few million.  

Plus: The seven-building Ink Block development in Boston's South End, which was completed last month, ushered in a Whole Foods, a 205-room hotel and 650 apartments (including a 590-square-foot studio for $3,510 a month, per the website).

Zoom out: The number of apartments in "live-work-play" buildings nationwide has quadrupled from 10 years ago, from 10,000 completed in 2012 to 43,700 in 2021, according to Yardi Matrix data.

The bottom line: Blending different types of real estate is one way cities are evolving in the era of remote and hybrid work.

Boston is one of the top cities for live-work-play apartments

Rental communities with residential, office and retail space increased over the last decade.

Illustration of an office cubicle with a roof like a house.

Boston is one of the top cities for mixed-use housing, second only to New York City when it comes to new construction that includes residential, office and retail space.What&#x27;s happening: A total of 6,400 mixed-use apartments have been completed in Boston since 2012, per a <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="report from RentCafe" data-vars-click-url="https://www.rentcafe.com/blog/rental-market/market-snapshots/live-work-play-developments/" data-vars-content-id="8ba9cbba-362b-4478-b8d8-759fe1131aa4" data-vars-headline="Boston is one of the top cities for live-work-play apartments" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.rentcafe.com/blog/rental-market/market-snapshots/live-work-play-developments/" target="_blank">report from RentCafe</a>, a nationwide apartment search website.

Real Estate

Massachusetts families received more than $53.5 million to cover COVID-related funeral expenses during the pandemic, according to the Federal Emergency Management Administration.

The agency has paid for 7,865 funerals in the state as of Aug. 1, spokesperson Dennis W. Pinkham said in an email to Axios. 

Why it matters: People are still dying every week from COVID-19.

Nearly 20,000 people have died in Massachusetts from COVID-related illnesses since the pandemic began, per the state Department of Public Health.

Details: FEMA pays up to $9,000 to reimburse expenses associated with a death attributed to COVID-19.

That includes burial, cremation, casket, headstone and other expenses.

The average FEMA reimbursement in Massachusetts is about $6,800.

FEMA foots millions in COVID-related funeral bills for Mass. families

People received more than $53.5 million for funeral expenses during the pandemic.

Illustration of a hand at a vigil holding a candle wrapped in a $100 bill.

Massachusetts families received more than $53.5 million to cover COVID-related funeral expenses during the pandemic, according to the Federal Emergency Management Administration.<ul><li>The agency has paid for 7,865 funerals in the state as of Aug. 1, spokesperson Dennis W. Pinkham said in an email to Axios. </li></ul>

COVID

Massachusetts regulators have approved more than 1,000 adult-use cannabis licenses. Data: Cannabis Control Commission; Chart: Simran Parwani/Axios

Kobie Evans and his business partner spend tens of thousands of dollars every quarter on marketing, staff salaries and inventory for Pure Oasis, a cannabis dispensary in Dorchester.

Unlike neighboring businesses, though, he can't write them off as tax-exempt expenses.

What's happening: That will soon change for Evans and cannabis retailers across Massachusetts with the equity proposal Gov. Charlie Baker signed into law Thursday.

The new law alters the state tax code — which mirrored a federal tax code that was created in the 1980s to penalize cocaine traffickers — so cannabis retailers can write off business expenses like companies in other industries.

The new law also creates a trust fund to help entrepreneurs from disadvantaged communities break into the industry.

And it limits what fees and perks communities can squeeze out of prospective cannabis businesses in their contracts, known as host community agreements. 

Why it matters: The law aims to level the playing field between large cannabis corporations and mom-and-pop shops.

At a glance, Massachusetts appears to have one of the most progressive cannabis industries, with licenses set aside for certain minority- and veteran-owned businesses. 

Yes, but: The process for getting a license and opening a business can take years and cost millions, typically making it easier for large, wealthier and often white-owned corporations to set up shop.

What they're saying: "It's a game-changer," says Evans, a Black Boston native who faced hurdles trying to open a dispensary in Medford before opening the Dorchester store.

Cannabis retailers tell Axios they hope they'll no longer lose as much money to taxable business expenses and fees set by municipalities. 

"We're punished on every corner, it feels like, and so chipping away at these things … moves us further toward normalcy," says Sieh Samura, a Black veteran from Boston and co-owner of Cambridge's first dispensary, Yamba Market. 

Details: The law reduces how much control individual towns have over host community agreements, giving the state Cannabis Control Commission greater authority to oversee these deals.

The CCC will not only be able to review new contracts, but existing ones going back to Dec. 15, 2016.

Communities can impose a limited-time "impact fee," for the perceived costs of having a dispensary in town, but that fee is limited to 3% of the business' total sales.

The other side: Massachusetts Municipal Association CEO Geoffrey C. Beckwith argued in a letter to legislative leaders this spring that the cannabis proposal would "usurp the established authority of local government, likely invoke legal challenges and create a more burdensome process for all parties involved with the cannabis industry in Massachusetts."

The bottom line: Samura of Yamba Market says he's cautiously hopeful that cannabis companies will have access to some of the same opportunities that other businesses do.

"We'll keep winning and pushing for our industry and pushing for profitability and letting people know that we're like other businesses," Sieh says. 

"It's really just this decades-long stigma that kind of follows us like an albatross, but we're getting better and more effective at fighting back against it."

Baker signs cannabis equity bill

The law aims to level the playing field between large cannabis corporations and mom-and-pop shops.

Kobie Evans and his business partner spend tens of thousands of dollars every quarter on marketing, staff salaries and inventory for Pure Oasis, a cannabis dispensary in Dorchester.<ul><li>Unlike neighboring businesses, though, he can&#x27;t write them off as tax-exempt expenses.</li></ul>What&#x27;s happening: That will soon change for Evans and cannabis retailers across Massachusetts with the equity proposal Gov. Charlie Baker signed into law Thursday.

Steph Solis

Featured stories

Navigating Boston's public bathrooms

Boston is one of the top cities for live-work-play apartments

How the Boston area is weaning off fossil fuels

FEMA foots millions in COVID-related funeral bills for Mass. families

Baker signs cannabis equity bill