Swimming in urban waterways across the world should be a right, say campaigners | Swimming

Swimming in urban sailors should be a right, have declared activists, because an international alliance aims to persuade politicians to clean up rivers so that they can be used safely by their citizens.

During the first world summit of swimming cities in Rotterdam, more than 200 representatives of more than 20 countries gathered and plunged into the water.

The Swimmable Cities Alliance was formed after the project to clean the Seine river culminated at the Paris Olympic Games in 2024. The summit is designed to rely on this work and the progress made in other European cities to create a global network of navable urban viewables.

The frame itself has shown what can be possible; Rijnhaven de Rotterdam, formerly an industrial port on the southern shore of the Nieuwe Maas river, is now a designated swimming area with a floating pontoons park and the only legal place to swim in the city center of Rotterdam.

Local populations come for evenings in the evening or divers at lunchtime, children jump and play, and during the summit, the conversations took place in a swimsuit.

“No titles, no roles – just humans connect,” said Daniel Allen -Hörnfeldt, the founder of Umeå Kallbad, a non -profit initiative creating access to the bath and the saunas in Umeå, in Sweden. “The Dutch risk approach is simple: inform, activate, then let go. I was seriously impressed. This feeling of confidence and ease – combined with clean water and an intelligent design – is a reminder of what a naggable city can look like. ”

More and more, cities become creative. Paris spent nearly 1.4 billion euros (1.19 billion pounds sterling) to restore the Seine in the contribution of the Olympic Games, including giant giant basins to stop the overflow of wastewater and install new filtration systems in key points. Consequently, three new urban swimming spots in the city center will open in July.

Copenhagen has led the way over ten years ago by investing in surveillance of water quality in real time and by reappearing wastewater during heavy rain. Its clean ports now accommodate extremely popular public bathing areas with rescue resorts, diving boards and saunas.

In Switzerland, floating changing rooms and safe entrance points mean that rivers in Basel, Bern and Zurich feel like a real extension of public space.

Berlin launched the Flussbad project in 2012 with the ambition to transform a stretch of madness into a filtered and free public swimming pool with integrated wetlands to clean water naturally.

Elsewhere, the Yarra Pools de Melbourne project, led by citizens and architects, strives to open the river as a place so that people can bring together and play.

However, despite these examples, many cities are faced with tenacious barriers to become swimming even when the water itself is clean. Historical legal frameworks often prohibit swimming in default urban rivers, and insurance problems and fear of dispute prevent authorities from opening access.

Public perception is lagging behind, with persistent fears of dirty water and chemicals left by industry. In many cities, swimming spots come together in richer areas or come with hidden costs.

Oumaima Ouaissa de Wavemakers United, an international non-profit organization, said: “Each citizen should think that urban sailors are theirs to live and protect. Clean and safe urban sailors are not only environmental assets, they are vital spaces for connection, health and well-being.”

The vice-mayor of Rotterdam, Pascal, Lansink-Bastemeijer, said: “Rotterdam is a city in the shape of water-and more and more, recovered by it in the best possible way. This summit is not only to swim – it is a question of restoring our relationship with water and leading together towards cleaner and more habitable cities for future generations. ”

The summit covered subjects, in particular the right to swim and the rights of nature, the restoration of navigable channels and water quality, swimming communities, investments in public and private partnerships, literacy of water and international water diplomacy.

Toby Robinson, a British Olympic swimmer who attends the top, said: “Access to water should be a civilian right, not pleasant to have. Nothing is free in London, but here, everyone can present themselves and swim, free of charge, in the Rijnhaven and, therefore, the region is buzzing. East.”

The Swimmable Cities Alliance aims to establish a reference base to measure the way in which the swimming urban waterways are in the world, with specific criteria for health, accessibility, biodiversity and the social impact of the sailors. The process will allow cities to measure progress, share best practices and accelerate the transformation of polluted or neglected navigable pathways into safe and swimming public spaces.

“This summit shows that swimming of the city is not only possible, it is a right,” said Matt Sykes, co -founder of the Alliance. “As a city is naggable, it is more resilient in the climate, healthier and more equitable.”