diff --git a/django/contrib/admindocs/views.py b/django/contrib/admindocs/views.py
index 94963b4d39..cb0c116416 100644
--- a/django/contrib/admindocs/views.py
+++ b/django/contrib/admindocs/views.py
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ from django.core import urlresolvers
 from django.contrib.admindocs import utils
 from django.contrib.sites.models import Site
 from django.utils.importlib import import_module
+from django.utils._os import upath
 from django.utils import six
 from django.utils.translation import ugettext as _
 from django.utils.safestring import mark_safe
@@ -311,7 +312,7 @@ def load_all_installed_template_libraries():
         try:
             libraries = [
                 os.path.splitext(p)[0]
-                for p in os.listdir(os.path.dirname(mod.__file__))
+                for p in os.listdir(os.path.dirname(upath(mod.__file__)))
                 if p.endswith('.py') and p[0].isalpha()
             ]
         except OSError:
diff --git a/django/contrib/auth/tests/context_processors.py b/django/contrib/auth/tests/context_processors.py
index 32fea8ac80..f846a828dd 100644
--- a/django/contrib/auth/tests/context_processors.py
+++ b/django/contrib/auth/tests/context_processors.py
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ from django.contrib.auth.context_processors import PermWrapper, PermLookupDict
 from django.db.models import Q
 from django.test import TestCase
 from django.test.utils import override_settings
+from django.utils._os import upath
 
 
 class MockUser(object):
@@ -63,7 +64,7 @@ class PermWrapperTests(TestCase):
 @skipIfCustomUser
 @override_settings(
     TEMPLATE_DIRS=(
-            os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), 'templates'),
+            os.path.join(os.path.dirname(upath(__file__)), 'templates'),
         ),
     USE_TZ=False,                           # required for loading the fixture
     PASSWORD_HASHERS=('django.contrib.auth.hashers.SHA1PasswordHasher',),
diff --git a/django/contrib/auth/tests/forms.py b/django/contrib/auth/tests/forms.py
index 286652ebcc..25890683e8 100644
--- a/django/contrib/auth/tests/forms.py
+++ b/django/contrib/auth/tests/forms.py
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ from django.forms.fields import Field, EmailField
 from django.test import TestCase
 from django.test.utils import override_settings
 from django.utils.encoding import force_text
+from django.utils._os import upath
 from django.utils import translation
 from django.utils.translation import ugettext as _
 
@@ -331,7 +332,7 @@ class PasswordResetFormTest(TestCase):
         self.assertEqual(form.cleaned_data['email'], email)
 
     def test_custom_email_subject(self):
-        template_path = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), 'templates')
+        template_path = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(upath(__file__)), 'templates')
         with self.settings(TEMPLATE_DIRS=(template_path,)):
             data = {'email': 'testclient@example.com'}
             form = PasswordResetForm(data)
diff --git a/django/contrib/auth/tests/views.py b/django/contrib/auth/tests/views.py
index b97d4a7cdf..0e83ca40a2 100644
--- a/django/contrib/auth/tests/views.py
+++ b/django/contrib/auth/tests/views.py
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ from django.http import QueryDict
 from django.utils.encoding import force_text
 from django.utils.html import escape
 from django.utils.http import urlquote
+from django.utils._os import upath
 from django.test import TestCase
 from django.test.utils import override_settings
 
@@ -27,7 +28,7 @@ from django.contrib.auth.tests.utils import skipIfCustomUser
     LANGUAGE_CODE='en',
     TEMPLATE_LOADERS=global_settings.TEMPLATE_LOADERS,
     TEMPLATE_DIRS=(
-        os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), 'templates'),
+        os.path.join(os.path.dirname(upath(__file__)), 'templates'),
     ),
     USE_TZ=False,
     PASSWORD_HASHERS=('django.contrib.auth.hashers.SHA1PasswordHasher',),
diff --git a/django/contrib/formtools/tests/__init__.py b/django/contrib/formtools/tests/__init__.py
index a21ffde533..aa7d5ff7d4 100644
--- a/django/contrib/formtools/tests/__init__.py
+++ b/django/contrib/formtools/tests/__init__.py
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ from django.contrib.formtools.wizard import FormWizard
 from django.test import TestCase
 from django.test.html import parse_html
 from django.test.utils import override_settings
+from django.utils._os import upath
 from django.utils import unittest
 
 from django.contrib.formtools.tests.wizard import *
@@ -36,7 +37,7 @@ class TestFormPreview(preview.FormPreview):
 
 @override_settings(
     TEMPLATE_DIRS=(
-        os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), 'templates'),
+        os.path.join(os.path.dirname(upath(__file__)), 'templates'),
     ),
 )
 class PreviewTests(TestCase):
@@ -214,7 +215,7 @@ class DummyRequest(http.HttpRequest):
 @override_settings(
     SECRET_KEY="123",
     TEMPLATE_DIRS=(
-        os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), 'templates'),
+        os.path.join(os.path.dirname(upath(__file__)), 'templates'),
     ),
 )
 class WizardTests(TestCase):
diff --git a/django/contrib/formtools/tests/wizard/wizardtests/tests.py b/django/contrib/formtools/tests/wizard/wizardtests/tests.py
index 6403a5548d..4aaea7d56e 100644
--- a/django/contrib/formtools/tests/wizard/wizardtests/tests.py
+++ b/django/contrib/formtools/tests/wizard/wizardtests/tests.py
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ from django.conf import settings
 from django.contrib.auth.models import User
 from django.contrib.formtools.wizard.views import CookieWizardView
 from django.contrib.formtools.tests.wizard.forms import UserForm, UserFormSet
+from django.utils._os import upath
 
 
 class WizardTests(object):
@@ -86,7 +87,7 @@ class WizardTests(object):
         self.assertEqual(response.context['wizard']['steps'].current, 'form2')
 
         post_data = self.wizard_step_data[1]
-        post_data['form2-file1'] = open(__file__, 'rb')
+        post_data['form2-file1'] = open(upath(__file__), 'rb')
         response = self.client.post(self.wizard_url, post_data)
         self.assertEqual(response.status_code, 200)
         self.assertEqual(response.context['wizard']['steps'].current, 'form3')
@@ -99,7 +100,7 @@ class WizardTests(object):
         self.assertEqual(response.status_code, 200)
 
         all_data = response.context['form_list']
-        with open(__file__, 'rb') as f:
+        with open(upath(__file__), 'rb') as f:
             self.assertEqual(all_data[1]['file1'].read(), f.read())
         all_data[1]['file1'].close()
         del all_data[1]['file1']
@@ -118,7 +119,7 @@ class WizardTests(object):
         self.assertEqual(response.status_code, 200)
 
         post_data = self.wizard_step_data[1]
-        with open(__file__, 'rb') as post_file:
+        with open(upath(__file__), 'rb') as post_file:
             post_data['form2-file1'] = post_file
             response = self.client.post(self.wizard_url, post_data)
         self.assertEqual(response.status_code, 200)
@@ -130,7 +131,7 @@ class WizardTests(object):
         self.assertEqual(response.status_code, 200)
 
         all_data = response.context['all_cleaned_data']
-        with open(__file__, 'rb') as f:
+        with open(upath(__file__), 'rb') as f:
             self.assertEqual(all_data['file1'].read(), f.read())
         all_data['file1'].close()
         del all_data['file1']
@@ -150,7 +151,7 @@ class WizardTests(object):
 
         post_data = self.wizard_step_data[1]
         post_data['form2-file1'].close()
-        post_data['form2-file1'] = open(__file__, 'rb')
+        post_data['form2-file1'] = open(upath(__file__), 'rb')
         response = self.client.post(self.wizard_url, post_data)
         self.assertEqual(response.status_code, 200)
 
@@ -178,7 +179,7 @@ class WizardTests(object):
 
         post_data = self.wizard_step_data[1]
         post_data['form2-file1'].close()
-        post_data['form2-file1'] = open(__file__, 'rb')
+        post_data['form2-file1'] = open(upath(__file__), 'rb')
         response = self.client.post(self.wizard_url, post_data)
         self.assertEqual(response.status_code, 200)
         self.assertEqual(response.context['wizard']['steps'].current, 'form3')
@@ -291,7 +292,7 @@ class WizardTestKwargs(TestCase):
         self.wizard_step_data[0]['form1-user'] = self.testuser.pk
 
     def test_template(self):
-        templates = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), 'templates')
+        templates = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(upath(__file__)), 'templates')
         with self.settings(
                 TEMPLATE_DIRS=list(settings.TEMPLATE_DIRS) + [templates]):
             response = self.client.get(self.wizard_url)
diff --git a/django/contrib/gis/geometry/test_data.py b/django/contrib/gis/geometry/test_data.py
index b0f6e1ad57..e13e8589e6 100644
--- a/django/contrib/gis/geometry/test_data.py
+++ b/django/contrib/gis/geometry/test_data.py
@@ -7,13 +7,14 @@ import os
 
 from django.contrib import gis
 from django.utils import six
+from django.utils._os import upath
 
 
 # This global used to store reference geometry data.
 GEOMETRIES = None
 
 # Path where reference test data is located.
-TEST_DATA = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(gis.__file__), 'tests', 'data')
+TEST_DATA = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(upath(gis.__file__)), 'tests', 'data')
 
 
 def tuplize(seq):
diff --git a/django/contrib/gis/tests/geo3d/tests.py b/django/contrib/gis/tests/geo3d/tests.py
index f7590fe84a..6b40164422 100644
--- a/django/contrib/gis/tests/geo3d/tests.py
+++ b/django/contrib/gis/tests/geo3d/tests.py
@@ -7,12 +7,13 @@ from django.contrib.gis.db.models import Union, Extent3D
 from django.contrib.gis.geos import GEOSGeometry, LineString, Point, Polygon
 from django.contrib.gis.utils import LayerMapping, LayerMapError
 from django.test import TestCase
+from django.utils._os import upath
 
 from .models import (City3D, Interstate2D, Interstate3D, InterstateProj2D,
     InterstateProj3D, Point2D, Point3D, MultiPoint3D, Polygon2D, Polygon3D)
 
 
-data_path = os.path.realpath(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), '..', 'data'))
+data_path = os.path.realpath(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(upath(__file__)), '..', 'data'))
 city_file = os.path.join(data_path, 'cities', 'cities.shp')
 vrt_file = os.path.join(data_path, 'test_vrt', 'test_vrt.vrt')
 
diff --git a/django/contrib/gis/tests/geogapp/tests.py b/django/contrib/gis/tests/geogapp/tests.py
index 2fd3560d0a..a8c607c502 100644
--- a/django/contrib/gis/tests/geogapp/tests.py
+++ b/django/contrib/gis/tests/geogapp/tests.py
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import os
 from django.contrib.gis import gdal
 from django.contrib.gis.measure import D
 from django.test import TestCase
+from django.utils._os import upath
 
 from .models import City, County, Zipcode
 
@@ -61,7 +62,7 @@ class GeographyTest(TestCase):
         from django.contrib.gis.utils import LayerMapping
 
         # Getting the shapefile and mapping dictionary.
-        shp_path = os.path.realpath(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), '..', 'data'))
+        shp_path = os.path.realpath(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(upath(__file__)), '..', 'data'))
         co_shp = os.path.join(shp_path, 'counties', 'counties.shp')
         co_mapping = {'name' : 'Name',
                       'state' : 'State',
diff --git a/django/contrib/gis/tests/layermap/tests.py b/django/contrib/gis/tests/layermap/tests.py
index a976954d25..470e5be216 100644
--- a/django/contrib/gis/tests/layermap/tests.py
+++ b/django/contrib/gis/tests/layermap/tests.py
@@ -13,13 +13,14 @@ from django.db import router
 from django.conf import settings
 from django.test import TestCase
 from django.utils import unittest
+from django.utils._os import upath
 
 from .models import (
     City, County, CountyFeat, Interstate, ICity1, ICity2, Invalid, State,
     city_mapping, co_mapping, cofeat_mapping, inter_mapping)
 
 
-shp_path = os.path.realpath(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), os.pardir, 'data'))
+shp_path = os.path.realpath(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(upath(__file__)), os.pardir, 'data'))
 city_shp = os.path.join(shp_path, 'cities', 'cities.shp')
 co_shp = os.path.join(shp_path, 'counties', 'counties.shp')
 inter_shp = os.path.join(shp_path, 'interstates', 'interstates.shp')
diff --git a/django/contrib/sitemaps/tests/http.py b/django/contrib/sitemaps/tests/http.py
index 99042fef03..4a1cf66b17 100644
--- a/django/contrib/sitemaps/tests/http.py
+++ b/django/contrib/sitemaps/tests/http.py
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ from django.core.exceptions import ImproperlyConfigured
 from django.test.utils import override_settings
 from django.utils.unittest import skipUnless
 from django.utils.formats import localize
+from django.utils._os import upath
 from django.utils.translation import activate, deactivate
 
 from .base import SitemapTestsBase
@@ -29,7 +30,7 @@ class HTTPSitemapTests(SitemapTestsBase):
         self.assertXMLEqual(response.content.decode('utf-8'), expected_content)
 
     @override_settings(
-        TEMPLATE_DIRS=(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), 'templates'),)
+        TEMPLATE_DIRS=(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(upath(__file__)), 'templates'),)
     )
     def test_simple_sitemap_custom_index(self):
         "A simple sitemap index can be rendered with a custom template"
@@ -64,7 +65,7 @@ class HTTPSitemapTests(SitemapTestsBase):
         self.assertXMLEqual(response.content.decode('utf-8'), expected_content)
 
     @override_settings(
-        TEMPLATE_DIRS=(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), 'templates'),)
+        TEMPLATE_DIRS=(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(upath(__file__)), 'templates'),)
     )
     def test_simple_custom_sitemap(self):
         "A simple sitemap can be rendered with a custom template"
diff --git a/django/contrib/staticfiles/storage.py b/django/contrib/staticfiles/storage.py
index 9691b7849d..7e87a89f5b 100644
--- a/django/contrib/staticfiles/storage.py
+++ b/django/contrib/staticfiles/storage.py
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ from django.utils.datastructures import SortedDict
 from django.utils.encoding import force_bytes, force_text
 from django.utils.functional import LazyObject
 from django.utils.importlib import import_module
+from django.utils._os import upath
 
 from django.contrib.staticfiles.utils import check_settings, matches_patterns
 
@@ -296,7 +297,7 @@ class AppStaticStorage(FileSystemStorage):
         """
         # app is the actual app module
         mod = import_module(app)
-        mod_path = os.path.dirname(mod.__file__)
+        mod_path = os.path.dirname(upath(mod.__file__))
         location = os.path.join(mod_path, self.source_dir)
         super(AppStaticStorage, self).__init__(location, *args, **kwargs)
 
diff --git a/django/core/management/__init__.py b/django/core/management/__init__.py
index bb26c20666..fab5059376 100644
--- a/django/core/management/__init__.py
+++ b/django/core/management/__init__.py
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ from django.core.exceptions import ImproperlyConfigured
 from django.core.management.base import BaseCommand, CommandError, handle_default_options
 from django.core.management.color import color_style
 from django.utils.importlib import import_module
+from django.utils._os import upath
 from django.utils import six
 
 # For backwards compatibility: get_version() used to be in this module.
@@ -410,10 +411,10 @@ def setup_environ(settings_mod, original_settings_path=None):
     # Add this project to sys.path so that it's importable in the conventional
     # way. For example, if this file (manage.py) lives in a directory
     # "myproject", this code would add "/path/to/myproject" to sys.path.
-    if '__init__.py' in settings_mod.__file__:
-        p = os.path.dirname(settings_mod.__file__)
+    if '__init__.py' in upath(settings_mod.__file__):
+        p = os.path.dirname(upath(settings_mod.__file__))
     else:
-        p = settings_mod.__file__
+        p = upath(settings_mod.__file__)
     project_directory, settings_filename = os.path.split(p)
     if project_directory == os.curdir or not project_directory:
         project_directory = os.getcwd()
diff --git a/django/core/management/commands/compilemessages.py b/django/core/management/commands/compilemessages.py
index b7392b9173..e1d8a33332 100644
--- a/django/core/management/commands/compilemessages.py
+++ b/django/core/management/commands/compilemessages.py
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import os
 import sys
 from optparse import make_option
 from django.core.management.base import BaseCommand, CommandError
+from django.utils._os import npath
 
 def has_bom(fn):
     with open(fn, 'rb') as f:
@@ -41,8 +42,8 @@ def compile_messages(stderr, locale=None):
                     # command, so that we can take advantage of shell quoting, to
                     # quote any malicious characters/escaping.
                     # See http://cyberelk.net/tim/articles/cmdline/ar01s02.html
-                    os.environ['djangocompilemo'] = pf + '.mo'
-                    os.environ['djangocompilepo'] = pf + '.po'
+                    os.environ['djangocompilemo'] = npath(pf + '.mo')
+                    os.environ['djangocompilepo'] = npath(pf + '.po')
                     if sys.platform == 'win32': # Different shell-variable syntax
                         cmd = 'msgfmt --check-format -o "%djangocompilemo%" "%djangocompilepo%"'
                     else:
diff --git a/django/core/management/commands/loaddata.py b/django/core/management/commands/loaddata.py
index 32ae8abf5a..12a582275b 100644
--- a/django/core/management/commands/loaddata.py
+++ b/django/core/management/commands/loaddata.py
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ from django.db import (connections, router, transaction, DEFAULT_DB_ALIAS,
       IntegrityError, DatabaseError)
 from django.db.models import get_apps
 from django.utils.encoding import force_text
+from django.utils._os import upath
 from itertools import product
 
 try:
@@ -102,10 +103,10 @@ class Command(BaseCommand):
             if hasattr(app, '__path__'):
                 # It's a 'models/' subpackage
                 for path in app.__path__:
-                    app_module_paths.append(path)
+                    app_module_paths.append(upath(path))
             else:
                 # It's a models.py module
-                app_module_paths.append(app.__file__)
+                app_module_paths.append(upath(app.__file__))
 
         app_fixtures = [os.path.join(os.path.dirname(path), 'fixtures') for path in app_module_paths]
 
diff --git a/django/core/management/commands/makemessages.py b/django/core/management/commands/makemessages.py
index 81c4fdf8cc..606cbe0b85 100644
--- a/django/core/management/commands/makemessages.py
+++ b/django/core/management/commands/makemessages.py
@@ -301,7 +301,7 @@ def make_messages(locale=None, domain='django', verbosity=1, all=False,
 
     locales = []
     if locale is not None:
-        locales.append(locale)
+        locales.append(str(locale))
     elif all:
         locale_dirs = filter(os.path.isdir, glob.glob('%s/*' % localedir))
         locales = [os.path.basename(l) for l in locale_dirs]
@@ -316,8 +316,8 @@ def make_messages(locale=None, domain='django', verbosity=1, all=False,
         if not os.path.isdir(basedir):
             os.makedirs(basedir)
 
-        pofile = os.path.join(basedir, '%s.po' % domain)
-        potfile = os.path.join(basedir, '%s.pot' % domain)
+        pofile = os.path.join(basedir, '%s.po' % str(domain))
+        potfile = os.path.join(basedir, '%s.pot' % str(domain))
 
         if os.path.exists(potfile):
             os.unlink(potfile)
diff --git a/django/core/management/sql.py b/django/core/management/sql.py
index ea03e9088c..e46f4ae4f5 100644
--- a/django/core/management/sql.py
+++ b/django/core/management/sql.py
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ from django.conf import settings
 from django.core.management.base import CommandError
 from django.db import models
 from django.db.models import get_models
+from django.utils._os import upath
 
 
 def sql_create(app, style, connection):
@@ -159,7 +160,7 @@ def _split_statements(content):
 
 def custom_sql_for_model(model, style, connection):
     opts = model._meta
-    app_dir = os.path.normpath(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(models.get_app(model._meta.app_label).__file__), 'sql'))
+    app_dir = os.path.normpath(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(upath(models.get_app(model._meta.app_label).__file__)), 'sql'))
     output = []
 
     # Post-creation SQL should come before any initial SQL data is loaded.
diff --git a/django/core/urlresolvers.py b/django/core/urlresolvers.py
index 9c0b7b70fd..c657fd9a54 100644
--- a/django/core/urlresolvers.py
+++ b/django/core/urlresolvers.py
@@ -251,9 +251,9 @@ class RegexURLResolver(LocaleRegexProvider):
             urlconf_repr = '<%s list>' % self.urlconf_name[0].__class__.__name__
         else:
             urlconf_repr = repr(self.urlconf_name)
-        return force_str('<%s %s (%s:%s) %s>' % (
+        return str('<%s %s (%s:%s) %s>') % (
             self.__class__.__name__, urlconf_repr, self.app_name,
-            self.namespace, self.regex.pattern))
+            self.namespace, self.regex.pattern)
 
     def _populate(self):
         lookups = MultiValueDict()
diff --git a/django/db/models/loading.py b/django/db/models/loading.py
index a0510acc6d..56edc36bec 100644
--- a/django/db/models/loading.py
+++ b/django/db/models/loading.py
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ from django.core.exceptions import ImproperlyConfigured
 from django.utils.datastructures import SortedDict
 from django.utils.importlib import import_module
 from django.utils.module_loading import module_has_submodule
+from django.utils._os import upath
 from django.utils import six
 
 import imp
@@ -244,8 +245,8 @@ class AppCache(object):
                 # The same model may be imported via different paths (e.g.
                 # appname.models and project.appname.models). We use the source
                 # filename as a means to detect identity.
-                fname1 = os.path.abspath(sys.modules[model.__module__].__file__)
-                fname2 = os.path.abspath(sys.modules[model_dict[model_name].__module__].__file__)
+                fname1 = os.path.abspath(upath(sys.modules[model.__module__].__file__))
+                fname2 = os.path.abspath(upath(sys.modules[model_dict[model_name].__module__].__file__))
                 # Since the filename extension could be .py the first time and
                 # .pyc or .pyo the second time, ignore the extension when
                 # comparing.
diff --git a/django/db/utils.py b/django/db/utils.py
index a91298626b..842fd354d6 100644
--- a/django/db/utils.py
+++ b/django/db/utils.py
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ from threading import local
 from django.conf import settings
 from django.core.exceptions import ImproperlyConfigured
 from django.utils.importlib import import_module
+from django.utils._os import upath
 from django.utils import six
 
 
@@ -27,7 +28,7 @@ def load_backend(backend_name):
     except ImportError as e_user:
         # The database backend wasn't found. Display a helpful error message
         # listing all possible (built-in) database backends.
-        backend_dir = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), 'backends')
+        backend_dir = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(upath(__file__)), 'backends')
         try:
             builtin_backends = [
                 name for _, name, ispkg in pkgutil.iter_modules([backend_dir])
diff --git a/django/utils/_os.py b/django/utils/_os.py
index 1ea12aed8a..6c1cd17a83 100644
--- a/django/utils/_os.py
+++ b/django/utils/_os.py
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 import os
 import stat
+import sys
 from os.path import join, normcase, normpath, abspath, isabs, sep, dirname
+
 from django.utils.encoding import force_text
 from django.utils import six
 
@@ -10,6 +12,9 @@ except NameError:
     class WindowsError(Exception):
         pass
 
+if not six.PY3:
+    fs_encoding = sys.getfilesystemencoding() or sys.getdefaultencoding()
+
 
 # Under Python 2, define our own abspath function that can handle joining
 # unicode paths to a current working directory that has non-ASCII characters
@@ -29,6 +34,23 @@ else:
             path = join(os.getcwdu(), path)
         return normpath(path)
 
+def upath(path):
+    """
+    Always return a unicode path.
+    """
+    if not six.PY3:
+        return path.decode(fs_encoding)
+    return path
+
+def npath(path):
+    """
+    Always return a native path, that is unicode on Python 3 and bytestring on
+    Python 2.
+    """
+    if not six.PY3 and not isinstance(path, bytes):
+        return path.encode(fs_encoding)
+    return path
+
 def safe_join(base, *paths):
     """
     Joins one or more path components to the base path component intelligently.
@@ -74,4 +96,3 @@ def rmtree_errorhandler(func, path, exc_info):
     os.chmod(path, stat.S_IWRITE)
     # use the original function to repeat the operation
     func(path)
-
diff --git a/django/utils/translation/trans_real.py b/django/utils/translation/trans_real.py
index 1bcef2d8de..cf6270cc0c 100644
--- a/django/utils/translation/trans_real.py
+++ b/django/utils/translation/trans_real.py
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ from threading import local
 
 from django.utils.importlib import import_module
 from django.utils.encoding import force_str, force_text
+from django.utils._os import upath
 from django.utils.safestring import mark_safe, SafeData
 from django.utils import six
 from django.utils.six import StringIO
@@ -109,7 +110,7 @@ def translation(language):
 
     from django.conf import settings
 
-    globalpath = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(sys.modules[settings.__module__].__file__), 'locale')
+    globalpath = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(upath(sys.modules[settings.__module__].__file__)), 'locale')
 
     def _fetch(lang, fallback=None):
 
@@ -151,7 +152,7 @@ def translation(language):
 
         for appname in reversed(settings.INSTALLED_APPS):
             app = import_module(appname)
-            apppath = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(app.__file__), 'locale')
+            apppath = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(upath(app.__file__)), 'locale')
 
             if os.path.isdir(apppath):
                 res = _merge(apppath)
@@ -337,7 +338,7 @@ def all_locale_paths():
     """
     from django.conf import settings
     globalpath = os.path.join(
-        os.path.dirname(sys.modules[settings.__module__].__file__), 'locale')
+        os.path.dirname(upath(sys.modules[settings.__module__].__file__)), 'locale')
     return [globalpath] + list(settings.LOCALE_PATHS)
 
 def check_for_language(lang_code):
diff --git a/django/views/i18n.py b/django/views/i18n.py
index 96643f0d7d..c1d456d667 100644
--- a/django/views/i18n.py
+++ b/django/views/i18n.py
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ from django.utils.translation import check_for_language, activate, to_locale, ge
 from django.utils.text import javascript_quote
 from django.utils.encoding import smart_text
 from django.utils.formats import get_format_modules, get_format
+from django.utils._os import upath
 from django.utils import six
 
 def set_language(request):
@@ -197,7 +198,7 @@ def javascript_catalog(request, domain='djangojs', packages=None):
     # paths of requested packages
     for package in packages:
         p = importlib.import_module(package)
-        path = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(p.__file__), 'locale')
+        path = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(upath(p.__file__)), 'locale')
         paths.append(path)
     # add the filesystem paths listed in the LOCALE_PATHS setting
     paths.extend(list(reversed(settings.LOCALE_PATHS)))
diff --git a/tests/modeltests/fixtures/tests.py b/tests/modeltests/fixtures/tests.py
index f9b0ac8a46..b667c8c6d4 100644
--- a/tests/modeltests/fixtures/tests.py
+++ b/tests/modeltests/fixtures/tests.py
@@ -226,9 +226,9 @@ class FixtureLoadingTests(TestCase):
 
     def test_ambiguous_compressed_fixture(self):
         # The name "fixture5" is ambigous, so loading it will raise an error
-        with six.assertRaisesRegex(self, management.CommandError,
-                "Multiple fixtures named 'fixture5'"):
+        with self.assertRaises(management.CommandError) as cm:
             management.call_command('loaddata', 'fixture5', verbosity=0, commit=False)
+            self.assertIn("Multiple fixtures named 'fixture5'", cm.exception.args[0])
 
     def test_db_loading(self):
         # Load db fixtures 1 and 2. These will load using the 'default' database identifier implicitly
@@ -250,9 +250,9 @@ class FixtureLoadingTests(TestCase):
         # is closed at the end of each test.
         if connection.vendor == 'mysql':
             connection.cursor().execute("SET sql_mode = 'TRADITIONAL'")
-        with six.assertRaisesRegex(self, IntegrityError,
-                "Could not load fixtures.Article\(pk=1\): .*$"):
+        with self.assertRaises(IntegrityError) as cm:
             management.call_command('loaddata', 'invalid.json', verbosity=0, commit=False)
+            self.assertIn("Could not load fixtures.Article(pk=1):", cm.exception.args[0])
 
     def test_loading_using(self):
         # Load db fixtures 1 and 2. These will load using the 'default' database identifier explicitly
@@ -308,9 +308,9 @@ class FixtureTransactionTests(TransactionTestCase):
 
         # Try to load fixture 2 using format discovery; this will fail
         # because there are two fixture2's in the fixtures directory
-        with six.assertRaisesRegex(self, management.CommandError,
-                "Multiple fixtures named 'fixture2'"):
+        with self.assertRaises(management.CommandError) as cm:
             management.call_command('loaddata', 'fixture2', verbosity=0)
+            self.assertIn("Multiple fixtures named 'fixture2'", cm.exception.args[0])
 
         # object list is unaffected
         self.assertQuerysetEqual(Article.objects.all(), [
diff --git a/tests/modeltests/model_forms/tests.py b/tests/modeltests/model_forms/tests.py
index c47de45ef7..c008c00906 100644
--- a/tests/modeltests/model_forms/tests.py
+++ b/tests/modeltests/model_forms/tests.py
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ from django.core.validators import ValidationError
 from django.db import connection
 from django.db.models.query import EmptyQuerySet
 from django.forms.models import model_to_dict
+from django.utils._os import upath
 from django.utils.unittest import skipUnless
 from django.test import TestCase
 from django.utils import six
@@ -1282,9 +1283,9 @@ class OldFormForXTests(TestCase):
         # it comes to validation. This specifically tests that #6302 is fixed for
         # both file fields and image fields.
 
-        with open(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), "test.png"), 'rb') as fp:
+        with open(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(upath(__file__)), "test.png"), 'rb') as fp:
             image_data = fp.read()
-        with open(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), "test2.png"), 'rb') as fp:
+        with open(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(upath(__file__)), "test2.png"), 'rb') as fp:
             image_data2 = fp.read()
 
         f = ImageFileForm(
diff --git a/tests/modeltests/proxy_model_inheritance/tests.py b/tests/modeltests/proxy_model_inheritance/tests.py
index 39fee7ee6d..239bc67809 100644
--- a/tests/modeltests/proxy_model_inheritance/tests.py
+++ b/tests/modeltests/proxy_model_inheritance/tests.py
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ from django.core.management import call_command
 from django.db.models.loading import cache, load_app
 from django.test import TestCase, TransactionTestCase
 from django.test.utils import override_settings
+from django.utils._os import upath
 
 from .models import (ConcreteModel, ConcreteModelSubclass,
     ConcreteModelSubclassProxy)
@@ -23,7 +24,7 @@ class ProxyModelInheritanceTests(TransactionTestCase):
 
     def setUp(self):
         self.old_sys_path = sys.path[:]
-        sys.path.append(os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__)))
+        sys.path.append(os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(upath(__file__))))
         for app in settings.INSTALLED_APPS:
             load_app(app)
 
diff --git a/tests/regressiontests/admin_scripts/tests.py b/tests/regressiontests/admin_scripts/tests.py
index a26d7a6eaa..d0ca9d26df 100644
--- a/tests/regressiontests/admin_scripts/tests.py
+++ b/tests/regressiontests/admin_scripts/tests.py
@@ -19,13 +19,15 @@ from django.conf import settings
 from django.db import connection
 from django.test.simple import DjangoTestSuiteRunner
 from django.utils import unittest
+from django.utils.encoding import force_str, force_text
+from django.utils._os import upath
 from django.test import LiveServerTestCase
 
-test_dir = os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(__file__))
+test_dir = os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(upath(__file__)))
 
 class AdminScriptTestCase(unittest.TestCase):
     def write_settings(self, filename, apps=None, is_dir=False, sdict=None):
-        test_dir = os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(__file__))
+        test_dir = os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(upath(__file__)))
         if is_dir:
             settings_dir = os.path.join(test_dir, filename)
             os.mkdir(settings_dir)
@@ -94,6 +96,7 @@ class AdminScriptTestCase(unittest.TestCase):
         return paths
 
     def run_test(self, script, args, settings_file=None, apps=None):
+        test_dir = os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(__file__))
         project_dir = os.path.dirname(test_dir)
         base_dir = os.path.dirname(project_dir)
         ext_backend_base_dirs = self._ext_backend_paths()
@@ -134,7 +137,7 @@ class AdminScriptTestCase(unittest.TestCase):
         return out, err
 
     def run_django_admin(self, args, settings_file=None):
-        bin_dir = os.path.abspath(os.path.dirname(bin.__file__))
+        bin_dir = os.path.abspath(os.path.dirname(upath(bin.__file__)))
         return self.run_test(os.path.join(bin_dir, 'django-admin.py'), args, settings_file)
 
     def run_manage(self, args, settings_file=None):
@@ -144,7 +147,7 @@ class AdminScriptTestCase(unittest.TestCase):
             except OSError:
                 pass
 
-        conf_dir = os.path.dirname(conf.__file__)
+        conf_dir = os.path.dirname(upath(conf.__file__))
         template_manage_py = os.path.join(conf_dir, 'project_template', 'manage.py')
 
         test_manage_py = os.path.join(test_dir, 'manage.py')
@@ -166,10 +169,12 @@ class AdminScriptTestCase(unittest.TestCase):
 
     def assertOutput(self, stream, msg):
         "Utility assertion: assert that the given message exists in the output"
+        stream = force_text(stream)
         self.assertTrue(msg in stream, "'%s' does not match actual output text '%s'" % (msg, stream))
 
     def assertNotInOutput(self, stream, msg):
         "Utility assertion: assert that the given message doesn't exist in the output"
+        stream = force_text(stream)
         self.assertFalse(msg in stream, "'%s' matches actual output text '%s'" % (msg, stream))
 
 ##########################################################################
@@ -1553,7 +1558,7 @@ class StartProject(LiveServerTestCase, AdminScriptTestCase):
         self.assertNoOutput(err)
         test_manage_py = os.path.join(testproject_dir, 'manage.py')
         with open(test_manage_py, 'r') as fp:
-            content = fp.read()
+            content = force_text(fp.read())
             self.assertIn("project_name = 'another_project'", content)
             self.assertIn("project_directory = '%s'" % testproject_dir, content)
 
diff --git a/tests/regressiontests/admin_scripts/urls.py b/tests/regressiontests/admin_scripts/urls.py
index 692638ceca..a45dc3e9a6 100644
--- a/tests/regressiontests/admin_scripts/urls.py
+++ b/tests/regressiontests/admin_scripts/urls.py
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 import os
 from django.conf.urls import patterns
+from django.utils._os import upath
 
-here = os.path.dirname(__file__)
+here = os.path.dirname(upath(__file__))
 
 urlpatterns = patterns('',
     (r'^custom_templates/(?P<path>.*)$', 'django.views.static.serve', {
diff --git a/tests/regressiontests/admin_views/tests.py b/tests/regressiontests/admin_views/tests.py
index 8579567438..18075dff34 100644
--- a/tests/regressiontests/admin_views/tests.py
+++ b/tests/regressiontests/admin_views/tests.py
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ from django.utils.cache import get_max_age
 from django.utils.encoding import iri_to_uri, force_bytes
 from django.utils.html import escape
 from django.utils.http import urlencode
+from django.utils._os import upath
 from django.utils import six
 from django.test.utils import override_settings
 
@@ -633,7 +634,7 @@ class AdminViewFormUrlTest(TestCase):
         Refs #17515.
         """
         template_dirs = settings.TEMPLATE_DIRS + (
-            os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), 'templates'),)
+            os.path.join(os.path.dirname(upath(__file__)), 'templates'),)
         with self.settings(TEMPLATE_DIRS=template_dirs):
             response = self.client.get("/test_admin/admin/admin_views/color2/")
             self.assertTrue('custom_filter_template.html' in [t.name for t in response.templates])
diff --git a/tests/regressiontests/app_loading/tests.py b/tests/regressiontests/app_loading/tests.py
index 0e66a5aad3..6dd0be2194 100644
--- a/tests/regressiontests/app_loading/tests.py
+++ b/tests/regressiontests/app_loading/tests.py
@@ -7,13 +7,14 @@ import time
 
 from django.conf import Settings
 from django.db.models.loading import cache, load_app, get_model, get_models
+from django.utils._os import upath
 from django.utils.unittest import TestCase
 
 class EggLoadingTest(TestCase):
 
     def setUp(self):
         self.old_path = sys.path[:]
-        self.egg_dir = '%s/eggs' % os.path.dirname(__file__)
+        self.egg_dir = '%s/eggs' % os.path.dirname(upath(__file__))
 
         # This test adds dummy applications to the app cache. These
         # need to be removed in order to prevent bad interactions
diff --git a/tests/regressiontests/bug639/tests.py b/tests/regressiontests/bug639/tests.py
index b7547696d4..fcc1e0f7d1 100644
--- a/tests/regressiontests/bug639/tests.py
+++ b/tests/regressiontests/bug639/tests.py
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import shutil
 
 from django.core.files.uploadedfile import SimpleUploadedFile
 from django.utils import unittest
+from django.utils._os import upath
 
 from .models import Photo, PhotoForm, temp_storage_dir
 
@@ -23,7 +24,7 @@ class Bug639Test(unittest.TestCase):
         called.
         """
         # Grab an image for testing.
-        filename = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), "test.jpg")
+        filename = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(upath(__file__)), "test.jpg")
         with open(filename, "rb") as fp:
             img = fp.read()
 
diff --git a/tests/regressiontests/file_storage/tests.py b/tests/regressiontests/file_storage/tests.py
index 45c18ba14a..b6d3e1ff0b 100644
--- a/tests/regressiontests/file_storage/tests.py
+++ b/tests/regressiontests/file_storage/tests.py
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ from django.core.files.uploadedfile import UploadedFile
 from django.test import SimpleTestCase
 from django.utils import six
 from django.utils import unittest
+from django.utils._os import upath
 from django.test.utils import override_settings
 from ..servers.tests import LiveServerBase
 
@@ -104,7 +105,7 @@ class FileStorageTests(unittest.TestCase):
         """
         storage = self.storage_class(location='')
         self.assertEqual(storage.base_location, '')
-        self.assertEqual(storage.location, os.getcwd())
+        self.assertEqual(storage.location, upath(os.getcwd()))
 
     def test_file_access_options(self):
         """
@@ -534,7 +535,7 @@ class DimensionClosingBug(unittest.TestCase):
         from django.core.files import images
         images.open = catching_open
         try:
-            get_image_dimensions(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), "test1.png"))
+            get_image_dimensions(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(upath(__file__)), "test1.png"))
         finally:
             del images.open
         self.assertTrue(FileWrapper._closed)
@@ -551,7 +552,7 @@ class InconsistentGetImageDimensionsBug(unittest.TestCase):
         """
         from django.core.files.images import ImageFile
 
-        img_path = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), "test.png")
+        img_path = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(upath(__file__)), "test.png")
         image = ImageFile(open(img_path, 'rb'))
         image_pil = Image.open(img_path)
         size_1, size_2 = get_image_dimensions(image), get_image_dimensions(image)
diff --git a/tests/regressiontests/fixtures_regress/tests.py b/tests/regressiontests/fixtures_regress/tests.py
index 55363bc5b7..988c5acd0c 100644
--- a/tests/regressiontests/fixtures_regress/tests.py
+++ b/tests/regressiontests/fixtures_regress/tests.py
@@ -14,6 +14,8 @@ from django.db.models import signals
 from django.test import (TestCase, TransactionTestCase, skipIfDBFeature,
     skipUnlessDBFeature)
 from django.test.utils import override_settings
+from django.utils.encoding import force_text
+from django.utils._os import upath
 from django.utils import six
 from django.utils.six import PY3, StringIO
 
@@ -126,7 +128,7 @@ class TestFixtures(TestCase):
         fixture directory.
         """
         load_absolute_path = os.path.join(
-            os.path.dirname(__file__),
+            os.path.dirname(upath(__file__)),
             'fixtures',
             'absolute.json'
         )
@@ -388,7 +390,7 @@ class TestFixtures(TestCase):
                 commit=False,
             )
 
-    _cur_dir = os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))
+    _cur_dir = os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(upath(__file__)))
 
     @override_settings(FIXTURE_DIRS=[os.path.join(_cur_dir, 'fixtures_1'),
                                      os.path.join(_cur_dir, 'fixtures_2')])
@@ -430,7 +432,7 @@ class TestFixtures(TestCase):
             stdout=stdout_output,
         )
         self.assertTrue("No xml fixture 'this_fixture_doesnt_exist' in" in
-            stdout_output.getvalue())
+            force_text(stdout_output.getvalue()))
 
 
 class NaturalKeyFixtureTests(TestCase):
diff --git a/tests/regressiontests/forms/tests/fields.py b/tests/regressiontests/forms/tests/fields.py
index 1027afceb1..e17d976fcf 100644
--- a/tests/regressiontests/forms/tests/fields.py
+++ b/tests/regressiontests/forms/tests/fields.py
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ from django.core.files.uploadedfile import SimpleUploadedFile
 from django.forms import *
 from django.test import SimpleTestCase
 from django.utils import six
+from django.utils._os import upath
 
 
 def fix_os_paths(x):
@@ -928,12 +929,12 @@ class FieldsTests(SimpleTestCase):
     # FilePathField ###############################################################
 
     def test_filepathfield_1(self):
-        path = os.path.abspath(forms.__file__)
+        path = os.path.abspath(upath(forms.__file__))
         path = os.path.dirname(path) + '/'
         self.assertTrue(fix_os_paths(path).endswith('/django/forms/'))
 
     def test_filepathfield_2(self):
-        path = forms.__file__
+        path = upath(forms.__file__)
         path = os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(path)) + '/'
         f = FilePathField(path=path)
         f.choices = [p for p in f.choices if p[0].endswith('.py')]
@@ -954,7 +955,7 @@ class FieldsTests(SimpleTestCase):
         assert fix_os_paths(f.clean(path + 'fields.py')).endswith('/django/forms/fields.py')
 
     def test_filepathfield_3(self):
-        path = forms.__file__
+        path = upath(forms.__file__)
         path = os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(path)) + '/'
         f = FilePathField(path=path, match='^.*?\.py$')
         f.choices.sort()
@@ -972,7 +973,7 @@ class FieldsTests(SimpleTestCase):
             self.assertTrue(got[0].endswith(exp[0]))
 
     def test_filepathfield_4(self):
-        path = os.path.abspath(forms.__file__)
+        path = os.path.abspath(upath(forms.__file__))
         path = os.path.dirname(path) + '/'
         f = FilePathField(path=path, recursive=True, match='^.*?\.py$')
         f.choices.sort()
@@ -992,7 +993,7 @@ class FieldsTests(SimpleTestCase):
             self.assertTrue(got[0].endswith(exp[0]))
 
     def test_filepathfield_folders(self):
-        path = os.path.dirname(__file__) + '/filepath_test_files/'
+        path = os.path.dirname(upath(__file__)) + '/filepath_test_files/'
         f = FilePathField(path=path, allow_folders=True, allow_files=False)
         f.choices.sort()
         expected = [
diff --git a/tests/regressiontests/httpwrappers/tests.py b/tests/regressiontests/httpwrappers/tests.py
index 2d172ad0e0..a601e541c6 100644
--- a/tests/regressiontests/httpwrappers/tests.py
+++ b/tests/regressiontests/httpwrappers/tests.py
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ from django.http import (QueryDict, HttpResponse, HttpResponseRedirect,
                          parse_cookie)
 from django.test import TestCase
 from django.utils.encoding import smart_str
+from django.utils._os import upath
 from django.utils import six
 from django.utils import unittest
 
@@ -483,7 +484,7 @@ class StreamingHttpResponseTests(TestCase):
 
 class FileCloseTests(TestCase):
     def test_response(self):
-        filename = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), 'abc.txt')
+        filename = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(upath(__file__)), 'abc.txt')
 
         # file isn't closed until we close the response.
         file1 = open(filename)
@@ -516,7 +517,7 @@ class FileCloseTests(TestCase):
         self.assertTrue(file2.closed)
 
     def test_streaming_response(self):
-        filename = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), 'abc.txt')
+        filename = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(upath(__file__)), 'abc.txt')
 
         # file isn't closed until we close the response.
         file1 = open(filename)
diff --git a/tests/regressiontests/i18n/commands/compilation.py b/tests/regressiontests/i18n/commands/compilation.py
index c6ab77941b..2944469110 100644
--- a/tests/regressiontests/i18n/commands/compilation.py
+++ b/tests/regressiontests/i18n/commands/compilation.py
@@ -4,9 +4,10 @@ from django.core.management import call_command, CommandError
 from django.test import TestCase
 from django.test.utils import override_settings
 from django.utils import translation, six
+from django.utils._os import upath
 from django.utils.six import StringIO
 
-test_dir = os.path.abspath(os.path.dirname(__file__))
+test_dir = os.path.abspath(os.path.dirname(upath(__file__)))
 
 
 class MessageCompilationTests(TestCase):
@@ -25,9 +26,9 @@ class PoFileTests(MessageCompilationTests):
 
     def test_bom_rejection(self):
         os.chdir(test_dir)
-        with six.assertRaisesRegex(self, CommandError,
-                "file has a BOM \(Byte Order Mark\)"):
+        with self.assertRaises(CommandError) as cm:
             call_command('compilemessages', locale=self.LOCALE, stderr=StringIO())
+        self.assertIn("file has a BOM (Byte Order Mark)", cm.exception.args[0])
         self.assertFalse(os.path.exists(self.MO_FILE))
 
 
diff --git a/tests/regressiontests/i18n/commands/extraction.py b/tests/regressiontests/i18n/commands/extraction.py
index ca2c3cc026..aa5efe1967 100644
--- a/tests/regressiontests/i18n/commands/extraction.py
+++ b/tests/regressiontests/i18n/commands/extraction.py
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 # -*- encoding: utf-8 -*-
+from __future__ import unicode_literals
 
 import os
 import re
@@ -6,6 +7,8 @@ import shutil
 
 from django.core import management
 from django.test import TestCase
+from django.utils.encoding import force_text
+from django.utils._os import upath
 from django.utils.six import StringIO
 
 
@@ -17,7 +20,7 @@ class ExtractorTests(TestCase):
 
     def setUp(self):
         self._cwd = os.getcwd()
-        self.test_dir = os.path.abspath(os.path.dirname(__file__))
+        self.test_dir = os.path.abspath(os.path.dirname(upath(__file__)))
 
     def _rmrf(self, dname):
         if os.path.commonprefix([self.test_dir, os.path.abspath(dname)]) != self.test_dir:
@@ -55,7 +58,7 @@ class BasicExtractorTests(ExtractorTests):
         management.call_command('makemessages', locale=LOCALE, verbosity=0)
         self.assertTrue(os.path.exists(self.PO_FILE))
         with open(self.PO_FILE, 'r') as fp:
-            po_contents = fp.read()
+            po_contents = force_text(fp.read())
             self.assertTrue('#. Translators: This comment should be extracted' in po_contents)
             self.assertTrue('This comment should not be extracted' not in po_contents)
             # Comments in templates
@@ -83,7 +86,7 @@ class BasicExtractorTests(ExtractorTests):
         management.call_command('makemessages', locale=LOCALE, verbosity=0)
         self.assertTrue(os.path.exists(self.PO_FILE))
         with open(self.PO_FILE, 'r') as fp:
-            po_contents = fp.read()
+            po_contents = force_text(fp.read())
             self.assertMsgId('Literal with a percent symbol at the end %%', po_contents)
             self.assertMsgId('Literal with a percent %% symbol in the middle', po_contents)
             self.assertMsgId('Completed 50%% of all the tasks', po_contents)
@@ -99,7 +102,7 @@ class BasicExtractorTests(ExtractorTests):
         management.call_command('makemessages', locale=LOCALE, verbosity=0)
         self.assertTrue(os.path.exists(self.PO_FILE))
         with open(self.PO_FILE, 'r') as fp:
-            po_contents = fp.read()
+            po_contents = force_text(fp.read())
             self.assertMsgId('I think that 100%% is more that 50%% of anything.', po_contents)
             self.assertMsgId('I think that 100%% is more that 50%% of %(obj)s.', po_contents)
             self.assertMsgId("Blocktrans extraction shouldn't double escape this: %%, a=%(a)s", po_contents)
@@ -123,7 +126,7 @@ class BasicExtractorTests(ExtractorTests):
         stdout = StringIO()
         management.call_command('makemessages', locale=LOCALE, stdout=stdout)
         os.remove('./code_sample.py')
-        self.assertIn("code_sample.py:4", stdout.getvalue())
+        self.assertIn("code_sample.py:4", force_text(stdout.getvalue()))
 
     def test_template_message_context_extractor(self):
         """
@@ -135,7 +138,7 @@ class BasicExtractorTests(ExtractorTests):
         management.call_command('makemessages', locale=LOCALE, verbosity=0)
         self.assertTrue(os.path.exists(self.PO_FILE))
         with open(self.PO_FILE, 'r') as fp:
-            po_contents = fp.read()
+            po_contents = force_text(fp.read())
             # {% trans %}
             self.assertTrue('msgctxt "Special trans context #1"' in po_contents)
             self.assertTrue("Translatable literal #7a" in po_contents)
@@ -161,7 +164,7 @@ class BasicExtractorTests(ExtractorTests):
         management.call_command('makemessages', locale=LOCALE, verbosity=0)
         self.assertTrue(os.path.exists(self.PO_FILE))
         with open(self.PO_FILE, 'r') as fp:
-            po_contents = fp.read()
+            po_contents = force_text(fp.read())
             # {% trans %}
             self.assertTrue('msgctxt "Context wrapped in double quotes"' in po_contents)
             self.assertTrue('msgctxt "Context wrapped in single quotes"' in po_contents)
@@ -216,7 +219,7 @@ class SymlinkExtractorTests(ExtractorTests):
 
     def setUp(self):
         self._cwd = os.getcwd()
-        self.test_dir = os.path.abspath(os.path.dirname(__file__))
+        self.test_dir = os.path.abspath(os.path.dirname(upath(__file__)))
         self.symlinked_dir = os.path.join(self.test_dir, 'templates_symlinked')
 
     def tearDown(self):
@@ -238,7 +241,7 @@ class SymlinkExtractorTests(ExtractorTests):
             management.call_command('makemessages', locale=LOCALE, verbosity=0, symlinks=True)
             self.assertTrue(os.path.exists(self.PO_FILE))
             with open(self.PO_FILE, 'r') as fp:
-                po_contents = fp.read()
+                po_contents = force_text(fp.read())
                 self.assertMsgId('This literal should be included.', po_contents)
                 self.assertTrue('templates_symlinked/test.html' in po_contents)
 
@@ -250,7 +253,7 @@ class CopyPluralFormsExtractorTests(ExtractorTests):
         management.call_command('makemessages', locale=LOCALE, verbosity=0)
         self.assertTrue(os.path.exists(self.PO_FILE))
         with open(self.PO_FILE, 'r') as fp:
-            po_contents = fp.read()
+            po_contents = force_text(fp.read())
             self.assertTrue('Plural-Forms: nplurals=2; plural=(n != 1)' in po_contents)
 
 
@@ -261,7 +264,7 @@ class NoWrapExtractorTests(ExtractorTests):
         management.call_command('makemessages', locale=LOCALE, verbosity=0, no_wrap=True)
         self.assertTrue(os.path.exists(self.PO_FILE))
         with open(self.PO_FILE, 'r') as fp:
-            po_contents = fp.read()
+            po_contents = force_text(fp.read())
             self.assertMsgId('This literal should also be included wrapped or not wrapped depending on the use of the --no-wrap option.', po_contents)
 
     def test_no_wrap_disabled(self):
@@ -269,7 +272,7 @@ class NoWrapExtractorTests(ExtractorTests):
         management.call_command('makemessages', locale=LOCALE, verbosity=0, no_wrap=False)
         self.assertTrue(os.path.exists(self.PO_FILE))
         with open(self.PO_FILE, 'r') as fp:
-            po_contents = fp.read()
+            po_contents = force_text(fp.read())
             self.assertMsgId('""\n"This literal should also be included wrapped or not wrapped depending on the "\n"use of the --no-wrap option."', po_contents, use_quotes=False)
 
 
@@ -280,7 +283,7 @@ class NoLocationExtractorTests(ExtractorTests):
         management.call_command('makemessages', locale=LOCALE, verbosity=0, no_location=True)
         self.assertTrue(os.path.exists(self.PO_FILE))
         with open(self.PO_FILE, 'r') as fp:
-            po_contents = fp.read()
+            po_contents = force_text(fp.read())
             self.assertFalse('#: templates/test.html:55' in po_contents)
 
     def test_no_location_disabled(self):
@@ -288,5 +291,5 @@ class NoLocationExtractorTests(ExtractorTests):
         management.call_command('makemessages', locale=LOCALE, verbosity=0, no_location=False)
         self.assertTrue(os.path.exists(self.PO_FILE))
         with open(self.PO_FILE, 'r') as fp:
-            po_contents = fp.read()
+            po_contents = force_text(fp.read())
             self.assertTrue('#: templates/test.html:55' in po_contents)
diff --git a/tests/regressiontests/i18n/contenttypes/tests.py b/tests/regressiontests/i18n/contenttypes/tests.py
index 178232f543..5e8a9823e1 100644
--- a/tests/regressiontests/i18n/contenttypes/tests.py
+++ b/tests/regressiontests/i18n/contenttypes/tests.py
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import os
 from django.contrib.contenttypes.models import ContentType
 from django.test import TestCase
 from django.test.utils import override_settings
+from django.utils._os import upath
 from django.utils import six
 from django.utils import translation
 
@@ -13,7 +14,7 @@ from django.utils import translation
 @override_settings(
     USE_I18N=True,
     LOCALE_PATHS=(
-        os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), 'locale'),
+        os.path.join(os.path.dirname(upath(__file__)), 'locale'),
     ),
     LANGUAGE_CODE='en',
     LANGUAGES=(
diff --git a/tests/regressiontests/i18n/patterns/tests.py b/tests/regressiontests/i18n/patterns/tests.py
index 73c9f56711..358cdf65db 100644
--- a/tests/regressiontests/i18n/patterns/tests.py
+++ b/tests/regressiontests/i18n/patterns/tests.py
@@ -7,16 +7,17 @@ from django.core.urlresolvers import reverse, clear_url_caches
 from django.test import TestCase
 from django.test.utils import override_settings
 from django.template import Template, Context
+from django.utils._os import upath
 from django.utils import translation
 
 
 @override_settings(
     USE_I18N=True,
     LOCALE_PATHS=(
-        os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), 'locale'),
+        os.path.join(os.path.dirname(upath(__file__)), 'locale'),
     ),
     TEMPLATE_DIRS=(
-        os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), 'templates'),
+        os.path.join(os.path.dirname(upath(__file__)), 'templates'),
     ),
     LANGUAGE_CODE='en',
     LANGUAGES=(
diff --git a/tests/regressiontests/i18n/tests.py b/tests/regressiontests/i18n/tests.py
index 2e0c097a19..dcc288e600 100644
--- a/tests/regressiontests/i18n/tests.py
+++ b/tests/regressiontests/i18n/tests.py
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ from django.utils.formats import (get_format, date_format, time_format,
     number_format)
 from django.utils.importlib import import_module
 from django.utils.numberformat import format as nformat
+from django.utils._os import upath
 from django.utils.safestring import mark_safe, SafeBytes, SafeString, SafeText
 from django.utils import six
 from django.utils.six import PY3
@@ -44,7 +45,7 @@ from .patterns.tests import (URLRedirectWithoutTrailingSlashTests,
     URLPrefixTests, URLResponseTests, URLRedirectTests, PathUnusedTests)
 
 
-here = os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))
+here = os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(upath(__file__)))
 extended_locale_paths = settings.LOCALE_PATHS + (
     os.path.join(here, 'other', 'locale'),
 )
@@ -666,8 +667,8 @@ class FormattingTests(TestCase):
         with self.settings(USE_L10N=True,
                 FORMAT_MODULE_PATH='regressiontests.i18n.other.locale'):
             with translation.override('de', deactivate=True):
-                old = "%r" % get_format_modules(reverse=True)
-                new = "%r" % get_format_modules(reverse=True) # second try
+                old = str("%r") % get_format_modules(reverse=True)
+                new = str("%r") % get_format_modules(reverse=True) # second try
                 self.assertEqual(new, old, 'Value returned by get_formats_modules() must be preserved between calls.')
 
     def test_localize_templatetag_and_filter(self):
diff --git a/tests/regressiontests/logging_tests/tests.py b/tests/regressiontests/logging_tests/tests.py
index 0e56195c41..f20a06f08e 100644
--- a/tests/regressiontests/logging_tests/tests.py
+++ b/tests/regressiontests/logging_tests/tests.py
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ from django.conf import compat_patch_logging_config, LazySettings
 from django.core import mail
 from django.test import TestCase, RequestFactory
 from django.test.utils import override_settings
+from django.utils.encoding import force_text
 from django.utils.log import CallbackFilter, RequireDebugFalse
 from django.utils.six import StringIO
 from django.utils.unittest import skipUnless
@@ -152,13 +153,13 @@ class WarningLoggerTests(TestCase):
         output = StringIO()
         self.logger.handlers[0].stream = output
         warnings.warn('Foo Deprecated', DeprecationWarning)
-        self.assertTrue('Foo Deprecated' in output.getvalue())
+        self.assertTrue('Foo Deprecated' in force_text(output.getvalue()))
 
     def test_warnings_capture_debug_false(self):
         output = StringIO()
         self.logger.handlers[0].stream = output
         warnings.warn('Foo Deprecated', DeprecationWarning)
-        self.assertFalse('Foo Deprecated' in output.getvalue())
+        self.assertFalse('Foo Deprecated' in force_text(output.getvalue()))
 
 
 class CallbackFilterTest(TestCase):
diff --git a/tests/regressiontests/model_fields/imagefield.py b/tests/regressiontests/model_fields/imagefield.py
index 7446f222ff..df0215db3d 100644
--- a/tests/regressiontests/model_fields/imagefield.py
+++ b/tests/regressiontests/model_fields/imagefield.py
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import shutil
 from django.core.files import File
 from django.core.files.images import ImageFile
 from django.test import TestCase
+from django.utils._os import upath
 from django.utils.unittest import skipIf
 
 from .models import Image
@@ -43,10 +44,10 @@ class ImageFieldTestMixin(object):
             shutil.rmtree(temp_storage_dir)
         os.mkdir(temp_storage_dir)
 
-        file_path1 = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), "4x8.png")
+        file_path1 = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(upath(__file__)), "4x8.png")
         self.file1 = self.File(open(file_path1, 'rb'))
 
-        file_path2 = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), "8x4.png")
+        file_path2 = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(upath(__file__)), "8x4.png")
         self.file2 = self.File(open(file_path2, 'rb'))
 
     def tearDown(self):
diff --git a/tests/regressiontests/model_forms_regress/models.py b/tests/regressiontests/model_forms_regress/models.py
index f6e08d24dc..2c2fd39158 100644
--- a/tests/regressiontests/model_forms_regress/models.py
+++ b/tests/regressiontests/model_forms_regress/models.py
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import os
 from django.core.exceptions import ValidationError
 from django.db import models
 from django.utils.encoding import python_2_unicode_compatible
+from django.utils._os import upath
 
 
 class Person(models.Model):
@@ -19,7 +20,7 @@ class Triple(models.Model):
         unique_together = (('left', 'middle'), ('middle', 'right'))
 
 class FilePathModel(models.Model):
-    path = models.FilePathField(path=os.path.dirname(__file__), match=".*\.py$", blank=True)
+    path = models.FilePathField(path=os.path.dirname(upath(__file__)), match=".*\.py$", blank=True)
 
 @python_2_unicode_compatible
 class Publication(models.Model):
diff --git a/tests/regressiontests/servers/tests.py b/tests/regressiontests/servers/tests.py
index f54e34ce28..1a7552ed11 100644
--- a/tests/regressiontests/servers/tests.py
+++ b/tests/regressiontests/servers/tests.py
@@ -15,11 +15,12 @@ from django.test import LiveServerTestCase
 from django.core.servers.basehttp import WSGIServerException
 from django.test.utils import override_settings
 from django.utils.http import urlencode
+from django.utils._os import upath
 
 from .models import Person
 
 
-TEST_ROOT = os.path.dirname(__file__)
+TEST_ROOT = os.path.dirname(upath(__file__))
 TEST_SETTINGS = {
     'MEDIA_URL': '/media/',
     'MEDIA_ROOT': os.path.join(TEST_ROOT, 'media'),
diff --git a/tests/regressiontests/staticfiles_tests/tests.py b/tests/regressiontests/staticfiles_tests/tests.py
index 0c8e7db17d..90c8621d0b 100644
--- a/tests/regressiontests/staticfiles_tests/tests.py
+++ b/tests/regressiontests/staticfiles_tests/tests.py
@@ -15,14 +15,14 @@ from django.core.exceptions import ImproperlyConfigured
 from django.core.management import call_command
 from django.test import TestCase
 from django.test.utils import override_settings
-from django.utils.encoding import smart_text
+from django.utils.encoding import force_text
 from django.utils.functional import empty
-from django.utils._os import rmtree_errorhandler
+from django.utils._os import rmtree_errorhandler, upath
 from django.utils import six
 
 from django.contrib.staticfiles import finders, storage
 
-TEST_ROOT = os.path.dirname(__file__)
+TEST_ROOT = os.path.dirname(upath(__file__))
 TEST_SETTINGS = {
     'DEBUG': True,
     'MEDIA_URL': '/media/',
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ class BaseStaticFilesTestCase(object):
         os.unlink(self._backup_filepath)
 
     def assertFileContains(self, filepath, text):
-        self.assertIn(text, self._get_file(smart_text(filepath)),
+        self.assertIn(text, self._get_file(force_text(filepath)),
                         "'%s' not in '%s'" % (text, filepath))
 
     def assertFileNotFound(self, filepath):
@@ -195,7 +195,7 @@ class TestFindStatic(CollectionTestCase, TestDefaults):
         call_command('findstatic', filepath, all=False, verbosity=0, stdout=out)
         out.seek(0)
         lines = [l.strip() for l in out.readlines()]
-        with codecs.open(smart_text(lines[1].strip()), "r", "utf-8") as f:
+        with codecs.open(force_text(lines[1].strip()), "r", "utf-8") as f:
             return f.read()
 
     def test_all_files(self):
@@ -207,8 +207,8 @@ class TestFindStatic(CollectionTestCase, TestDefaults):
         out.seek(0)
         lines = [l.strip() for l in out.readlines()]
         self.assertEqual(len(lines), 3)  # three because there is also the "Found <file> here" line
-        self.assertIn('project', lines[1])
-        self.assertIn('apps', lines[2])
+        self.assertIn('project', force_text(lines[1]))
+        self.assertIn('apps', force_text(lines[2]))
 
 
 class TestCollection(CollectionTestCase, TestDefaults):
diff --git a/tests/regressiontests/templates/loaders.py b/tests/regressiontests/templates/loaders.py
index 7fbb0841f9..b77965203f 100644
--- a/tests/regressiontests/templates/loaders.py
+++ b/tests/regressiontests/templates/loaders.py
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ from django.template import TemplateDoesNotExist, Context
 from django.template.loaders.eggs import Loader as EggLoader
 from django.template import loader
 from django.utils import unittest, six
+from django.utils._os import upath
 from django.utils.six import StringIO
 
 
@@ -111,9 +112,9 @@ class CachedLoader(unittest.TestCase):
     def test_templatedir_caching(self):
         "Check that the template directories form part of the template cache key. Refs #13573"
         # Retrive a template specifying a template directory to check
-        t1, name = loader.find_template('test.html', (os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), 'templates', 'first'),))
+        t1, name = loader.find_template('test.html', (os.path.join(os.path.dirname(upath(__file__)), 'templates', 'first'),))
         # Now retrieve the same template name, but from a different directory
-        t2, name = loader.find_template('test.html', (os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), 'templates', 'second'),))
+        t2, name = loader.find_template('test.html', (os.path.join(os.path.dirname(upath(__file__)), 'templates', 'second'),))
 
         # The two templates should not have the same content
         self.assertNotEqual(t1.render(Context({})), t2.render(Context({})))
@@ -123,7 +124,7 @@ class RenderToStringTest(unittest.TestCase):
     def setUp(self):
         self._old_TEMPLATE_DIRS = settings.TEMPLATE_DIRS
         settings.TEMPLATE_DIRS = (
-            os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), 'templates'),
+            os.path.join(os.path.dirname(upath(__file__)), 'templates'),
         )
 
     def tearDown(self):
diff --git a/tests/regressiontests/templates/response.py b/tests/regressiontests/templates/response.py
index a2a76a3310..c4da50af6b 100644
--- a/tests/regressiontests/templates/response.py
+++ b/tests/regressiontests/templates/response.py
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ from django.template import Template, Context
 from django.template.response import (TemplateResponse, SimpleTemplateResponse,
                                       ContentNotRenderedError)
 from django.test.utils import override_settings
+from django.utils._os import upath
 
 def test_processor(request):
     return {'processors': 'yes'}
@@ -206,7 +207,7 @@ class SimpleTemplateResponseTest(TestCase):
 
 @override_settings(
     TEMPLATE_CONTEXT_PROCESSORS=[test_processor_name],
-    TEMPLATE_DIRS=(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__),'templates')),
+    TEMPLATE_DIRS=(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(upath(__file__)), 'templates')),
 )
 class TemplateResponseTest(TestCase):
 
diff --git a/tests/regressiontests/templates/tests.py b/tests/regressiontests/templates/tests.py
index 65d6e727e1..9ec487d06c 100644
--- a/tests/regressiontests/templates/tests.py
+++ b/tests/regressiontests/templates/tests.py
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ from django.test.utils import (setup_test_template_loader,
 from django.utils import unittest
 from django.utils.encoding import python_2_unicode_compatible
 from django.utils.formats import date_format
+from django.utils._os import upath
 from django.utils.translation import activate, deactivate, ugettext as _
 from django.utils.safestring import mark_safe
 from django.utils import six
@@ -423,7 +424,7 @@ class Templates(TestCase):
         # Set ALLOWED_INCLUDE_ROOTS so that ssi works.
         old_allowed_include_roots = settings.ALLOWED_INCLUDE_ROOTS
         settings.ALLOWED_INCLUDE_ROOTS = (
-            os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__)),
+            os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(upath(__file__))),
         )
 
         # Warm the URL reversing cache. This ensures we don't pay the cost
@@ -514,7 +515,7 @@ class Templates(TestCase):
     def get_template_tests(self):
         # SYNTAX --
         # 'template_name': ('template contents', 'context dict', 'expected string output' or Exception class)
-        basedir = os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))
+        basedir = os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(upath(__file__)))
         tests = {
             ### BASIC SYNTAX ################################################
 
@@ -1649,7 +1650,7 @@ class TemplateTagLoading(unittest.TestCase):
     def setUp(self):
         self.old_path = sys.path[:]
         self.old_apps = settings.INSTALLED_APPS
-        self.egg_dir = '%s/eggs' % os.path.dirname(__file__)
+        self.egg_dir = '%s/eggs' % os.path.dirname(upath(__file__))
         self.old_tag_modules = template_base.templatetags_modules
         template_base.templatetags_modules = []
 
diff --git a/tests/regressiontests/test_client_regress/tests.py b/tests/regressiontests/test_client_regress/tests.py
index f424321663..5ba5d3c4b3 100644
--- a/tests/regressiontests/test_client_regress/tests.py
+++ b/tests/regressiontests/test_client_regress/tests.py
@@ -16,12 +16,13 @@ from django.test import Client, TestCase
 from django.test.client import encode_file, RequestFactory
 from django.test.utils import ContextList, override_settings, str_prefix
 from django.template.response import SimpleTemplateResponse
+from django.utils._os import upath
 from django.utils.translation import ugettext_lazy
 from django.http import HttpResponse
 
 
 @override_settings(
-    TEMPLATE_DIRS=(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), 'templates'),)
+    TEMPLATE_DIRS=(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(upath(__file__)), 'templates'),)
 )
 class AssertContainsTests(TestCase):
     def test_contains(self):
@@ -629,7 +630,7 @@ class TemplateExceptionTests(TestCase):
                     template_loader.reset()
 
     @override_settings(
-        TEMPLATE_DIRS=(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), 'bad_templates'),)
+        TEMPLATE_DIRS=(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(upath(__file__)), 'bad_templates'),)
     )
     def test_bad_404_template(self):
         "Errors found when rendering 404 error templates are re-raised"
diff --git a/tests/regressiontests/urlpatterns_reverse/tests.py b/tests/regressiontests/urlpatterns_reverse/tests.py
index 85f18db4c5..eb3afe8201 100644
--- a/tests/regressiontests/urlpatterns_reverse/tests.py
+++ b/tests/regressiontests/urlpatterns_reverse/tests.py
@@ -237,7 +237,7 @@ class ResolverTests(unittest.TestCase):
             self.assertEqual(len(e.args[0]['tried']), len(url_types_names), 'Wrong number of tried URLs returned.  Expected %s, got %s.' % (len(url_types_names), len(e.args[0]['tried'])))
             for tried, expected in zip(e.args[0]['tried'], url_types_names):
                 for t, e in zip(tried, expected):
-                    self.assertTrue(isinstance(t, e['type']), '%s is not an instance of %s' % (t, e['type']))
+                    self.assertTrue(isinstance(t, e['type']), str('%s is not an instance of %s') % (t, e['type']))
                     if 'name' in e:
                         if not e['name']:
                             self.assertTrue(t.name is None, 'Expected no URL name but found %s.' % t.name)
diff --git a/tests/regressiontests/utils/archive.py b/tests/regressiontests/utils/archive.py
index 5575f340f6..8861b4a577 100644
--- a/tests/regressiontests/utils/archive.py
+++ b/tests/regressiontests/utils/archive.py
@@ -4,9 +4,10 @@ import tempfile
 from django.utils import unittest
 
 from django.utils.archive import Archive, extract
+from django.utils._os import upath
 
 
-TEST_DIR = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), 'archives')
+TEST_DIR = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(upath(__file__)), 'archives')
 
 
 class ArchiveTester(object):
diff --git a/tests/regressiontests/utils/module_loading.py b/tests/regressiontests/utils/module_loading.py
index dffb51966c..3fc92b0862 100644
--- a/tests/regressiontests/utils/module_loading.py
+++ b/tests/regressiontests/utils/module_loading.py
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ from zipimport import zipimporter
 from django.utils import unittest
 from django.utils.importlib import import_module
 from django.utils.module_loading import module_has_submodule
+from django.utils._os import upath
 
 
 class DefaultLoader(unittest.TestCase):
@@ -50,7 +51,7 @@ class DefaultLoader(unittest.TestCase):
 class EggLoader(unittest.TestCase):
     def setUp(self):
         self.old_path = sys.path[:]
-        self.egg_dir = '%s/eggs' % os.path.dirname(__file__)
+        self.egg_dir = '%s/eggs' % os.path.dirname(upath(__file__))
 
     def tearDown(self):
         sys.path = self.old_path
diff --git a/tests/regressiontests/views/tests/debug.py b/tests/regressiontests/views/tests/debug.py
index e616d184b8..4fdaad5010 100644
--- a/tests/regressiontests/views/tests/debug.py
+++ b/tests/regressiontests/views/tests/debug.py
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ from django.core.urlresolvers import reverse
 from django.test import TestCase, RequestFactory
 from django.test.utils import (override_settings, setup_test_template_loader,
     restore_template_loaders)
+from django.utils.encoding import force_text
 from django.views.debug import ExceptionReporter
 
 from .. import BrokenException, except_args
@@ -306,15 +307,16 @@ class ExceptionReportTestMixin(object):
             self.assertEqual(len(mail.outbox), 1)
             email = mail.outbox[0]
             # Frames vars are never shown in plain text email reports.
-            self.assertNotIn('cooked_eggs', email.body)
-            self.assertNotIn('scrambled', email.body)
-            self.assertNotIn('sauce', email.body)
-            self.assertNotIn('worcestershire', email.body)
+            body = force_text(email.body)
+            self.assertNotIn('cooked_eggs', body)
+            self.assertNotIn('scrambled', body)
+            self.assertNotIn('sauce', body)
+            self.assertNotIn('worcestershire', body)
             if check_for_POST_params:
                 for k, v in self.breakfast_data.items():
                     # All POST parameters are shown.
-                    self.assertIn(k, email.body)
-                    self.assertIn(v, email.body)
+                    self.assertIn(k, body)
+                    self.assertIn(v, body)
 
     def verify_safe_email(self, view, check_for_POST_params=True):
         """
@@ -327,20 +329,21 @@ class ExceptionReportTestMixin(object):
             self.assertEqual(len(mail.outbox), 1)
             email = mail.outbox[0]
             # Frames vars are never shown in plain text email reports.
-            self.assertNotIn('cooked_eggs', email.body)
-            self.assertNotIn('scrambled', email.body)
-            self.assertNotIn('sauce', email.body)
-            self.assertNotIn('worcestershire', email.body)
+            body = force_text(email.body)
+            self.assertNotIn('cooked_eggs', body)
+            self.assertNotIn('scrambled', body)
+            self.assertNotIn('sauce', body)
+            self.assertNotIn('worcestershire', body)
             if check_for_POST_params:
                 for k, v in self.breakfast_data.items():
                     # All POST parameters' names are shown.
-                    self.assertIn(k, email.body)
+                    self.assertIn(k, body)
                 # Non-sensitive POST parameters' values are shown.
-                self.assertIn('baked-beans-value', email.body)
-                self.assertIn('hash-brown-value', email.body)
+                self.assertIn('baked-beans-value', body)
+                self.assertIn('hash-brown-value', body)
                 # Sensitive POST parameters' values are not shown.
-                self.assertNotIn('sausage-value', email.body)
-                self.assertNotIn('bacon-value', email.body)
+                self.assertNotIn('sausage-value', body)
+                self.assertNotIn('bacon-value', body)
 
     def verify_paranoid_email(self, view):
         """
@@ -353,15 +356,16 @@ class ExceptionReportTestMixin(object):
             self.assertEqual(len(mail.outbox), 1)
             email = mail.outbox[0]
             # Frames vars are never shown in plain text email reports.
-            self.assertNotIn('cooked_eggs', email.body)
-            self.assertNotIn('scrambled', email.body)
-            self.assertNotIn('sauce', email.body)
-            self.assertNotIn('worcestershire', email.body)
+            body = force_text(email.body)
+            self.assertNotIn('cooked_eggs', body)
+            self.assertNotIn('scrambled', body)
+            self.assertNotIn('sauce', body)
+            self.assertNotIn('worcestershire', body)
             for k, v in self.breakfast_data.items():
                 # All POST parameters' names are shown.
-                self.assertIn(k, email.body)
+                self.assertIn(k, body)
                 # No POST parameters' values are shown.
-                self.assertNotIn(v, email.body)
+                self.assertNotIn(v, body)
 
 
 class ExceptionReporterFilterTests(TestCase, ExceptionReportTestMixin):
diff --git a/tests/regressiontests/views/tests/i18n.py b/tests/regressiontests/views/tests/i18n.py
index 671becbbc9..f1f5b175c8 100644
--- a/tests/regressiontests/views/tests/i18n.py
+++ b/tests/regressiontests/views/tests/i18n.py
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ from django.core.urlresolvers import reverse
 from django.test import LiveServerTestCase, TestCase
 from django.test.utils import override_settings
 from django.utils import six, unittest
+from django.utils._os import upath
 from django.utils.translation import override
 from django.utils.text import javascript_quote
 
@@ -152,7 +153,7 @@ class JsI18NTestsMultiPackage(TestCase):
     def testI18NWithLocalePaths(self):
         extended_locale_paths = settings.LOCALE_PATHS + (
             path.join(path.dirname(
-                path.dirname(path.abspath(__file__))), 'app3', 'locale'),)
+                path.dirname(path.abspath(upath(__file__)))), 'app3', 'locale'),)
         with self.settings(LANGUAGE_CODE='es-ar', LOCALE_PATHS=extended_locale_paths):
             with override('es-ar'):
                 response = self.client.get('/views/jsi18n/')
diff --git a/tests/regressiontests/views/urls.py b/tests/regressiontests/views/urls.py
index ae3b9c0a9e..2c06557ae9 100644
--- a/tests/regressiontests/views/urls.py
+++ b/tests/regressiontests/views/urls.py
@@ -4,11 +4,12 @@ from __future__ import absolute_import
 from os import path
 
 from django.conf.urls import patterns, url, include
+from django.utils._os import upath
 
 from . import views
 
 
-base_dir = path.dirname(path.abspath(__file__))
+base_dir = path.dirname(path.abspath(upath(__file__)))
 media_dir = path.join(base_dir, 'media')
 locale_dir = path.join(base_dir, 'locale')
 
diff --git a/tests/runtests.py b/tests/runtests.py
index 90e2dc2d65..8c56e273b5 100755
--- a/tests/runtests.py
+++ b/tests/runtests.py
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import tempfile
 import warnings
 
 from django import contrib
+from django.utils._os import upath
 from django.utils import six
 
 # databrowse is deprecated, but we still want to run its tests
@@ -19,8 +20,8 @@ REGRESSION_TESTS_DIR_NAME = 'regressiontests'
 
 TEST_TEMPLATE_DIR = 'templates'
 
-RUNTESTS_DIR = os.path.dirname(__file__)
-CONTRIB_DIR = os.path.dirname(contrib.__file__)
+RUNTESTS_DIR = os.path.dirname(upath(__file__))
+CONTRIB_DIR = os.path.dirname(upath(contrib.__file__))
 MODEL_TEST_DIR = os.path.join(RUNTESTS_DIR, MODEL_TESTS_DIR_NAME)
 REGRESSION_TEST_DIR = os.path.join(RUNTESTS_DIR, REGRESSION_TESTS_DIR_NAME)
 TEMP_DIR = tempfile.mkdtemp(prefix='django_')
@@ -192,7 +193,7 @@ def bisect_tests(bisection_label, options, test_labels):
             pass
 
     subprocess_args = [
-        sys.executable, __file__, '--settings=%s' % options.settings]
+        sys.executable, upath(__file__), '--settings=%s' % options.settings]
     if options.failfast:
         subprocess_args.append('--failfast')
     if options.verbosity:
@@ -253,7 +254,7 @@ def paired_tests(paired_test, options, test_labels):
             pass
 
     subprocess_args = [
-        sys.executable, __file__, '--settings=%s' % options.settings]
+        sys.executable, upath(__file__), '--settings=%s' % options.settings]
     if options.failfast:
         subprocess_args.append('--failfast')
     if options.verbosity: