Tag:brand=Changing Places
 brand = Changing Places
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| Description |
|---|
| Indicate if a wheelchair accessible toilet is certified as changing place. |
| Group: accessibility |
| Used on these elements |
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| Status: undefined |
| Tools for this tag |
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Changing places can mean different things:
- A wheelchair accessible toilet with advanced facilities (such as a hoist lift and an adult changing table), allowing to change the diaper of a person with a severe motor disability.
- The Changing places Consortium
This page explains how those relate to OpenStreetMap and how they are (not) tagged in OpenStreetMap
An advanced wheelchair-accessible toilet
The first meaning of Changing Place is a wheelhchair accessible toilet with an adult changing table, a hoist lift and some other facilities. According to the Changing Places Consortium, such a toilet needs the following facilities in order to receive the "changing places toilet"-label (anno 2025):
- A toilet
- A height-adjustable, adult-sized changing bench
- a ceiling track hoist system
- adequate space for the disabled person and up to two assistants
- peninsular toilet with space both sides for assistants
- privacy screen
- wide paper roll
- large waste disposal bin
- washbasin, preferably height adjustable
- Back rest on toilet seat
A shower is recommended, but not required.
The consortium
The Changing Places Consortium is a collection of various not-for-profit organisations and volunteers who promot to have more wheelchair accessible toilets with adult changing tables (and the other mentioned facilities). They lobby for Changing Places toilets to be installed in all big public spaces. They lobby at the government level to fund those places and give advice to to venues who want to install this type of facilities.[1]
However, the UK-consortium claims the trademark on "changing places":
The Consortium owns all intellectual property rights in the Changing Places name, logo and strap line “Changing Places Changing Lives” and you shall not download copy or reproduce the name, logo or strap line without the explicit prior written consent of MDUK and PAMIS other than to promote and support the Campaign in any manner detailed in this website. The Changing Places logo is registered trademark no UK00003379532, owned by MDUK.
Notwithstanding the condition above, any owner of a venue who installs a Changing Places toilet facility which meets the Changing Places standards as detailed on this website is permitted to display the Changing Places Logo on the toilet facilities solely for the purpose of indicating to the public that the toilet facilities meet the Changing Places standards.[2]
As such, we are not allowed to to use the logo or name.
How to tag?
Map the facility using this guide page on wheelchair accessible toilets. If the facility clearly displays the "changing places toilets"-logo, add brand=Changing places (note: plural).
It is tempting to use a designated tag, such as amenity=changing_place to embody all the criteria mentioned above. This however has some problems:
- The changing-place term is trademarked
- The consortium might change the criteria, making the tag obsolete. This has already happened.
- The consortium is UK-based. The criteria might be different in different countries or might not exist at all
- A toilet might meet all the criteria, but might not be certified by the changing places consortium (e.g. because the owner of the changing place has an unrelated conflict with the consortium, or the consortium is not active in their country)
- A restroom meeting nearly all the criteria would not be found, even though a data user might find that this facility meets their needs.
Possible tagging mistakes
Many of those toilets have some indication of being a changing place - for example, in the name=*, in the description=* or in wheelchair:description=*. overpassquery helps to find those places.
Data sources on changing places
| URL | Explanation | Legal status | Can be imported into OSM |
|---|---|---|---|
| https://www.changing-places.org/find | Official UK-map of changing places | All rights reserved | No |
| https://www.vlaanderen.be/inter/mensen-met-een-handicap/changing-places | Changing places in Flanders (Belgium) | Modellicentie gratis hergebruik Vlaanderen | yes, including pictures |
| https://app.changingplacesinternational.org/?latLng=55.7726908335163%2C9.78325062544354 | Changing places international | ||
| https://changingplaces.ie/find-changing-places/ | Ireland CPT | All rights reserved | No |