Urban life seen from the bottom of a latrine - a study of latrines as hubs in the social-ecological system of Renaissance Copenhagen

This article presents results from a multi-proxy analysis of 34 latrines from a backyard in Copenhagen dating to the Renaissance, an investigation with new information on the role of latrines in what may be seen as an ‘urban social-ecological system’. In this period of population growth in the city, concepts of waste, waste management, uncleanliness and spatial organization within the allotments in the inner city were reviewed and changed by Copenhagen’s inhabitants. Intentional depositions of different waste categories, and the choice of a latrines’ form and type are just some of the measures taken to manage life in the changing urban environment.