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Swimmable Cities

swimmablecities.org

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Re: Swimmable Cities

#161

Post by ghaff »

xiwenc wrote: post #118

Great initiative! As a relatively late swimmer (started learning in my thirties), more people should be able to swim. I was expecting to see a map or list of places/cities to find out whether it’s safe to swim. But it seems that is not part of this initiative?

Being able to swim at a basic level seems like a fairly basic safety thing but I expect a fair number of people who grew up in places where swimming wasn't commonplace never learned. I went to school someplace that required passing a swim test or at least taking a class but don't know how rigidly that was enforced.

Re: Swimmable Cities

#162

Post by coreyh14444 »

fmbb wrote: post #146
coreyh14444 wrote: post #9

American living in Copenhagen here. We check all of these boxes. The entire channel that runs through town is swimmable thanks to decades of work cleaning it up. On a warm summer day, you could expect maybe 1000+ swimmers in the water in the city centre across all the locations. We also do Vinterbadere (Winter Bathing) throughout the year. The only time you can't swim is after a day or two of sustained rain and there…

What does it mean to do winter bathing throughout the year? Do you call it that in June still?

Well, I meant it in contrast so some places that do Polar Bear dips or whatever just on New Years Day or whatever. Basically, people swim 365 days a year here. It doesn't get cold enough for the channel to freeze over, but we sometimes get some ice by the shore and the hard core ones will chop a hole.

Re: Swimmable Cities

#163

Post by ghaff »

j_m_b wrote: post #144

In the US, we've essentially banned swimming outside of a few lifeguard-monitored zones. There are no swimming signs everywhere and in places you wouldn't otherwise think should be banned, such as public lakes or beaches. People still do swim in these areas, but I remember a squad of cop cars showing up at Lake Artemesia near UMD because a woman was gasp swimming in the lake.

I guess that hasn't been my experience. I see people swimming all the time in locations where there aren't lifeguards and other safety measures.

Re: Swimmable Cities

#164

Post by johnofthesea »

tomw1808 wrote: post #57

Vienna is very swimmable. Not right now, because its cold and rainy, but on a hot summer day thousands of people gather and swim in the Danube every single day. It's amazing, the water is relatively clean, small fishes inside, its a joy for children and adults alike.

Also bit further down in Bratislava (even with decreased quality from Morava tributary).

Especially gravel beaches near Hainburg (which is technically not Bratislava) or on the other side between Devin and Karlova ves.

Re: Swimmable Cities

#165

Post by normie3000 »

johnofthesea wrote: post #159
TheFragenTaken wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's just fun/sad reading about the concept of "swimmable cities" when you've taken it for granted all your life. Most cities with fjords or channels here, have "harbour baths" - essentially outdoor swimming facilities with springboards and tanning beds. Would have thought these existed elsewhere.

It is probably not that uncommon. I've been swimming both in Oslofjord and Danube (AT, SK).

AT, SK?

Re: Swimmable Cities

#167

Post by robertlagrant »

Aeolun wrote: post #153
jagged-chisel wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That tells us nothing useful about the state of things 15+yrs ago. Only that 2023 was the worst. Could have been bad for 100yrs, just the worst in 2023.

I’m inclined to think the words would not be so scathing if we were talking about a 5% increase in pollution. Maybe I’m too optimistic?

Everything gets spun, but the simplest way I can understand this is that water shouldn't be getting dirtier in England. It should be cleaner. Of course the regulate-everything crowd will jump on this as delicious confirmation bias, but there are also plenty of sensible people who also think this is worth investigating and enforcing.

Re: Swimmable Cities

#168

Post by Cthulhu_ »

bounder wrote: post #100

This is a great initiative. It is weird if you think about it. Why are our waterways in many cities so polluted and dangerous that you can't use them safely as a human(or any animal)? We should take more care about making the environment we live in safe and accessible for everyone. Amsterdam (and many other cities in the Netherlands) have swimmable parts. I'm coming from Groningen myself and there the government made…

They're dangerous because waste management (sewage, drainage, etc) was dependent on the waterways for hundreds of years; only with modern infrastructure, laws and regulations and good water management can you change it. And even then a lot of places also depend on what's happening upstream, e.g. the Rhine passes through various German industrial areas, the Nile passes through half a continent, etc. Besides that, it'll be weather dependent; if there's a dry spell and not enough water flow, toxic algae or bacteria build up.

Re: Swimmable Cities

#169

Post by Cthulhu_ »

Aeolun wrote: post #154
bounder wrote: post #100

This is a great initiative. It is weird if you think about it. Why are our waterways in many cities so polluted and dangerous that you can't use them safely as a human(or any animal)? We should take more care about making the environment we live in safe and accessible for everyone. Amsterdam (and many other cities in the Netherlands) have swimmable parts. I'm coming from Groningen myself and there the government made…

I don’t think that as a child in the Netherlands I ever contemplated that water might be dangerous for any reason other than drowning. It’s bizarre to hear that it’s true in any first world nation.

Blue algae blooms will make you real sick though.

Re: Swimmable Cities

#170

Post by Cthulhu_ »

tomw1808 wrote: post #57

Vienna is very swimmable. Not right now, because its cold and rainy, but on a hot summer day thousands of people gather and swim in the Danube every single day. It's amazing, the water is relatively clean, small fishes inside, its a joy for children and adults alike.

I was in Novi Sad for work a few years ago, they've got a walkable boulevard, artificial beaches and beach clubs set up along the Danube, it looked really nice.
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