Diving into Environmental Justice: considering the future of outdoor swimming amenities in Brussels

 

 By Ida Bandemer & Danica Herman

 

Outdoor swimming has been historically rooted in urban life in European cities like Copenhagen, Zurich, and Berlin. Brussels, however, contrasts as it is a capital European city without any swimmable natural waterbodies or public open-air pools – infrastructures that are crucial for healthy urban societies and environments. Urban blue spaces – outdoor environments that prominently feature water and are accessible to humans – have been shown to offer benefits, like mitigating urban heat island effects, supporting physical activity, and impacting mental health through restoration (Grellier et al., 2017; White et al., 2020). In turn, locating these dedicated spaces in cities provides access to urban recreation and interaction with nature in close proximity to the increasing amount of urban inhabitants. Like parks and playgrounds, swimming pools are vital to a city’s social infrastructure (Gascon et al., 2017). Practicing outdoor swimming produces socialities and can facilitate a sense of belonging and connection within the social world of this activity (Moles, 2021). The lack of such facilities demonstrates the missed potential of these advantageous public blue spaces in Brussels’ urban landscape.

 

The urban swimming renaissance is currently sweeping Europe, as the strong desire for outdoor swimming opportunities by city inhabitants is becoming more prominent (Day, 2021). People’s appropriation of open waterscapes like rivers, canals, and ponds for bathing – ‘urban wild swimming’ – can be understood as a way to reclaim the right to the city (Kowalewski, 2014).

 

Image 1. Guerilla Canal Jump in Anderlecht (Source: PopupCity, 2018)

 

In Brussels, residents are vocalizing their demand for such spaces through guerilla events, like the 2017 & 2018 Canal Jumps. Organized by the local non-profit POOL IS COOL, Brusseleirs were encouraged to jump into the canal to advocate for safe, clean, and accessible waters – despite or rather precisely because of the canal’s poor water quality (POOL IS COOL, 2018). The inhabitants’ enthusiastic participation demonstrates their craving for the recreational and social benefits of city swimming. POOL IS COOL has continued to advocate, raise awareness, and provide opportunities to bring outdoor swimming to Brussels (Schröter, 2018). In 2021, they opened up the temporary pool facility FLOW in Anderlecht – a participatory project that provided temporary work and education to more than 50 youngsters, which is particularly relevant given the high rates of unemployment in this neighbourhood (POOL IS COOL, 2021).

 

Images 2 & 3. FLOW project Anderlecht (Source: POOL IS COOL, 2022)

 

This project acted as a catalyst for the implementation of permanent swimming amenities in the city: Brussels will soon welcome three separate blue developments that focus on urban swimming. The first, Becobad, features a separate pool structure in the Northern Quarter adjacent to the canal and will be filled with filtered canal water. The pool will be accompanied by a “controlled-access bathing area” using physical entrances to maintain the facility (POOL IS COOL, 2022). Becobad will be a public establishment with security measures like surveillance, service management, and entrance fees which makes one question if this pool will guarantee equitable access for low-income adjacent community members, especially considering its close proximity to the rapidly developing area of Tour & Taxis (Ledent, 2023).

 

Like Becobad, the two other proposed permanent projects may also have drastic impacts on residents and the environment. Neerpede Park, in Anderlecht, is part of Brussels’ Regional Plan for Sustainable Development and includes the transformation of an existing pond into one that allows public swimming. The number of users will be limited in order to supervise and control the impact of human activity on the existing adjacent landscape and biodiversity (Brussels Environment, 2022). Still, the introduction of human activity into the natural systems of Neerpede Park has the potential to harm the existing biodiversity, which residents of Brussels have expressed their concerns about.

 

Image 4. Proposed Becobad rendering (Source: KIS Studio – SWECO, 2022)

Image 5. Preliminary swim in the proposed pond in Nerpeede Park (Source: POOL IS COOL, 2019)

 

Residents fear that the current natural site will “become a recreational zone that is harmful to biodiversity” and that swimmers “will disturb the rich fauna and flora and the peace and quietness of the park” (Basem, 2022).

 

Lastly, the Abattoir development differs more drastically. The 20.2 million euro swimming complex, located on the roof of the Manufakture building in Anderlecht, will feature both indoor and outdoor pools (Chini, 2022). While located a safe distance from existing natural surroundings, there is still a major risk for the gentrification of this urban area. Although it stands as an adaptive solution for the lack of blue space infrastructures within this dense environment, its extravagant concept raises questions of accessibility for the surrounding communities. The Mayor of Anderlecht has a different opinion:

 

“This project in the heart of a working-class neighbourhood demonstrates the revival of all these urban areas where all the challenges of Brussels come together” (Fabrice Cumps; Chini, 2022).

 

The urban revival of Anderlecht through the Abattoir development raises concerns about whether this is merely a placemaking/developmental tactic to remove the stigma associated with Brussels being one of the only capital cities in Europe deprived of outdoor swimming amenities. While these amenities – ones that Brussels residents have been advocating for nearly a decade – will finally be provided, what will a development of this scale and stature do to a working-class neighbourhood?

 

Image 6. Scale model of Abattoir rooftop development (Source: POOL IS COOL, 2023)

 

Public recreational blue spaces are vital for enhancing a city’s social and environmental sustainability. The discussed developments, aimed at reviving urban swimming activity in the Belgian capital, demonstrate that projects of such scale often come at the expense of low-income citizens’ needs. Thus, questions around environmental justice arise: Who will benefit most from the developments and how are the affected neighbourhoods going to transform? Are the current inhabitants considered in the design of these concepts? Will the needs of the neighbouring environment and communities for accessible, clean, and swimmable public blue spaces be met?

 

Becobad, Abattoir, and Neerpede illustrate three different scalar approaches to city swimming, but the addition or modification of these blue spaces to the urban and natural landscapes is undoubtedly going to impact the existing adjacent environments. We can only hope that the actors and stakeholders involved have considered the polarity of this impact.

 

 

 

Bibliography

 

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Chini, M. (27 December, 2022). Brussels will build first public outdoor swimming pool on Abattoir roof. The Brussels Times. Accessed 25, April 2023 from https://www.brusselstimes.com/342848/brussels-will-build-first-public-outdoor-swimming-pool-on-abattoir-roof

 

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Images

 

Image 1. Guerilla Canal Jump in Anderlecht. Day, T. (9, March 2021). The Renaissance of Urban Swimming. PopupCity. Accessed 21, April, 2023 from The Renaissance of Urban Swimming — Pop-Up City (popupcity.net)

 

Images 2 & 3. FLOW project Anderlecht. POOL IS COOL (30, December 2022). FLOW 2022 – A visual diary – Vol. 2. Accessed 28, April, 2023 from https://www.pooliscool.org/news/2022/12/30/flow-2022

 

Image 4. Proposed Becobad rendering. POOL IS COOL (25, July 2022). Becobad – Soon swimming in a pool in the canal of Brussels?! Accessed 21, April 2023 from https://www.pooliscool.org/news/2022/7/25/becobad#en

 

Image 5. Preliminary swim in the proposed pond in Nerpeede Park. POOL IS COOL (20, August 2019). This was expedition swim. Accessed 28, April, 2023 from This was EXPEDITION SWIM — POOL IS COOL