Launching on the eve of the 2024 Paris Olympics, the Swimmable Cities alliance is supporting the growth of a global, grassroots movement for transforming urban waterways. With signatories from 49+ cities and 21+ countries, our Charter champions the right to swim, celebrates urban swimming culture, and honours the sacredness of water. Let’s make waves of positive change together!
Institutional Partners
coming soon
Funding Partners
coming soon
Knowledge Partners
coming soon
Media Partners
coming soon
Steps that you can take to get involved!
1. Join the Alliance
Make a commitment to align your organisation with the Swimmable Cities Charter.
2. Grow the Community
Invite other local swimming groups, businesses and organisations to sign the Charter.
3. Advocate to Decision-makers
Educate local Ministers, Mayors and Councillors about the benefits of urban swimming.
The Swimmable Cities alliance has been catalysed by grassroots organisations from around the world, but it’s our goal that over time we can work together to drive international cross-sector collaboration.
The urban swimming movement is building momentum! What if we had a set of common principles to empower decision-makers, advocates and actors in their work with local natural waterways?
Making Peace with Nature
Promoting the Rights to Life
Empowering People in Practice
Swimming towards Sustainable Development
Investing in a Better Future for All
Connecting South, North, East & West
FOUNDATIONAL VALUES
1. The Right to Swim
Safe, healthy and swimmable waterways should be accessible to all people.
2. One Health, Many Swimmers
Swimmable urban waterways are vital to the liveability of cities and communities, as shared civic places that promote the health of people (physically, mentally, spiritually) and the health of Mother Earth.
3. Urban Swimming Culture
Urban swimming culture is a unique expression of life in cities and communities, reflecting the distinct interplay of sports, recreation and tourism in each given place, as well as natural and cultural heritage.
4. Water is Sacred
Urban swimming should celebrate natural waterways as living, integrated entities that nurture communities; promoting universal accessibility and peaceful coexistence inclusive of religious, cultural and gender diversity.
ENABLING CONDITIONS
5. Rewriting the Rules
Urban waterway swimming should become part of a new status quo in public access standards, challenging accepted conventions such as industrial uses and stormwater pollution, with governing authorities swiftly amending legal and regulatory frameworks to enable citizens access to its benefits.
6. Democratic Participation in Swimming Places
Urban swimming places and experiences should be planned, designed, made and operated through inclusive, integrated water management approaches; with managers ensuring universal access via community-led programs for learning how to swim in natural waterways and ecological literacy.
7. Reconnection & Resilience
Urban swimming places and experiences should be invested in as an innovative way to enable resilient communities to adapt and thrive in a changing global climate, environment and economy.
SHARING BENEFITS
8. New Economic Opportunities
Urban swimming development models should balance social, cultural, ecological and economic values, creating new jobs, careers and livelihoods in regenerative professions and industries.
9. Sharing Wellbeing Benefits, Culture & Knowledge
Urban swimming should create wellbeing benefits to local citizens, ecosystems and economies; enhanced by the respectful sharing of Indigenous, traditional and Western water culture knowledge.
NEXT GENERATION
10. Stewardship for Today, Tomorrow & Future Generations
Urban swimmers are stewards responsible for protecting the health of their local waterways, working alongside Mother Earth’s closest carers, such as Indigenous peoples, rangers and waterkeepers as well as urbanists, architects, social changemakers, educators and policy-makers.
Swimmers jumped off of a dock during sanctioned swimming in the Charles River. / JESSICA RINALDI/GLOBE STAFF
Have you heard about the global biodiversity goals and the ’30 by 30’ target? Well, we thought we’d add some fresh ideas.
Note: Why ‘Mother Earth’? Just as the UN Global Biodiversity Framework recognises voices of Indigenous Peoples and the rights of Nature, so do we.
It takes a global village to grow a movement! Our signatories represent an incredible diversity of stakeholders - from local activists and community swimming groups to municipalities and government agencies, civil society organisations, businesses, universities and cultural institutions.
Our alliance is made up of organisations across 49 cities and communities, across 21 countries:
AUSTRALIA (Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney), AUSTRIA (Vienna, Zwerndorf), BELGIUM (Antwerp, Brussels, Ghent), BRAZIL (Rio de Janeiro), CANADA (Toronto), CHINA (Beijing), DENMARK (Copenhagen), FINLAND (Helsinki, Lohja), FRANCE (Lille, Marseille, Metz, Paris), GERMANY (Berlin, Dresden, Munich), HUNGARY (Budapest), INDONESIA (Bali), IRELAND (Cork), ITALY (Rome), NETHERLANDS (Amsterdam, Arnhem, Rotterdam), SLOVAKIA (Bratislava), SOUTH AFRICA (Johannesburg), SOUTH KOREA (Seoul), SWITZERLAND (Basel), UK (Brighton, Bromsgrove, Liverpool, London, Newcastle upon Tyne, Norwich, Plymouth, Oxford, Swansea), USA (Annapolis, Baltimore, Cambridge, Chicago, Houston, New York, Portland, Washington DC)
This includes the following Municipalities: City of Rotterdam (Netherlands), City of Yarra (Melbourne, AUS), Alsergrund District (Vienna, AUT) and City of Annapolis (MD, USA)
We also have some individuals who have now signed the Charter: Hicham Karkouch and Dr Naina Gupta.
Matt Sykes
Regeneration Projects (Convenor)
Ana Mumladze Detering
Pan European Urban Bathing Network & SVDK Vienna
Chris Romer-Lee
Studio Octopi, Thames Baths & Future Lidos
Sibylle van der Walt
Metz Ville d'Eau
Tim Edler
Flussbad Berlin
Jerome Castex
Libres Nageurs
The Swimmable Cities alliance is emerging and growing through the collective efforts of experts in urban swimming environment design, public mediation, community building, policy, safety, public health, waterway restoration and water quality.
Like all global movements, there are many actors and different hubs of activity, spread out over years and decades. The Swimmable Cities Handbook (published by Regeneration Projects in October 2023) captures some of this spirit and provides an introductory tool for newcomers to urban swimming. The Handbook helped spark the formation of an international Steering Group in February 2024. From there, we set about creating the Swimmable Cities Charter and sharing good news stories from our social media channels. We're now working towards one of our goals for 2025, convening a Swimmable Cities Summit in Paris to bring together experts, actors, activists and decision-makers. Stay tuned for details!
General Enquiries
Regional Enquiries
Europe
ana@svdonaukanal.org
Asia-Pacific
matt@regenprojects.earth
Americas
info@pluspool.org
Africa
romy@waterforthefuture.co.za
The Swimmable Cities movement is just beginning!
