The human bladder holds approximately 400-600 milliliters. After three or four beers, that limit is hit. For a night-shift worker walking home at 2 AM with no all-night cafe or gas station restroom available, a dark doorway becomes a grim necessity.
Internationally, the responses vary wildly. In Singapore, public urination carries a fine of up to SGD $1,000 (approx. $750 USD) and possible jail time. In Hamburg, Germany, authorities have literally painted the red-light district with hydrophobic liquid that sprays urine back onto the offender's shoes. In London, certain walls are coated with "paint that pees back." Shaming doesn't work. Fining the homeless doesn't work. Spikes and sloped ledges just make the city look like a maximum-security prison. What works is boring, expensive, and unsexy: infrastructure. piss in public
In most US jurisdictions, public urination is a misdemeanor. The standard fine ranges from $100 to $1,000. But the truly draconian consequence comes from a legal quirk: In many states (notably California, New York, and Texas), if the act occurs in a "public place where a child could potentially see it," it can be charged as "indecent exposure" or "lewd conduct." The human bladder holds approximately 400-600 milliliters