During these August days, I have read with great interest and empathy a number of news stories and opinion pieces calling for more public swimming pools as a major climate adaptation strategy. In his article “The Metropolis of Swimming Pools”, Oriol Estela argues that swimming pools should be recognized as green, blue, and social infrastructure at the neighborhood scale, and that they should become a priority public policy. The problem, as the article explains, is that the Barcelona metropolitan area—and I would venture to extend this observation to most Catalan cities—currently lacks sufficient public pools, and those that do exist are distributed very unevenly. Meanwhile, private swimming pools have proliferated, deepening climate inequality for those who cannot afford a private pool or who are unable to access a public one because prices are too high.
In an article published in El Crític, Elena Parreño denounced the fact that some Catalan municipalities have established exorbitant entrance fees for non-residents. Anthropologist José Mansilla responded with his article “Municipal Swimming Pools Are the People’s Palaces”, defending the idea that pools should remain affordable and accessible to everyone.
I say that I read these articles with great interest not only because I share their concerns, but also because I have been able to do so from a city where summer swimming facilities are now a central public policy priority. Vienna, renowned for its housing policies, has also made public pools and bathing facilities a key piece of infrastructure in its response to the increasingly intense heat waves it experiences every summer.
Although Vienna had a long tradition of public bathing linked to hygiene dating back to the nineteenth century, it was during the period known as Red Vienna (1919–1934) that these facilities acquired a new significance. Much as they did with housing, the Social Democratic governments of the time understood access to water and leisure as a social right and as a form of public infrastructure. They built six large summer pools (Sommerbäder), twenty-one children’s and family pools (Kinderfreibäder), and several public bathing and hygiene facilities, while also expanding swimming areas along the Danube. Most importantly, they established a model that has allowed the public swimming network to expand steadily over the decades, reaching virtually every district of the city today.
During our stay in Vienna—a family trip—we were able to cope with several days of extreme heat, with temperatures approaching 40°C, by visiting and enjoying four of these facilities located in different parts of the city. In each case, the same pattern emerged: large sites with multiple pools or bathing areas, extensive lawns shaded by mature trees, generous sports facilities, spacious changing rooms, and food services. They are genuine climate refuges—“people’s palaces,” in Mansilla’s words.
You may be wondering about the cost. Admission is €8.10 for adults, €4.60 for young people aged 15 to 18, €2.80 for children, and free for those under six. Prices are reduced by half for afternoon entry. As a family of four—two adults, one teenager, and one child—we paid around €24 to spend the entire day at the pool. Monthly passes range from €48 for adults to €16.80 for children. And, importantly, these passes provide access to any facility within the municipal network, reinforcing its universal character.
As you might imagine, all four sites were busy. Yet what struck us most was the remarkable social diversity present at each of them, regardless of location. We visited a pool in the southern districts, another in the northern districts, and two bathing beaches along the river. Everywhere, we shared the space with people from very different social backgrounds: older adults, families with children, groups of teenagers and young people, and residents from a wide range of cultural and ethnic backgrounds. We did not perceive social segregation in any of these places. Quite the opposite: we experienced an exceptional and genuinely moving level of coexistence. People left their belongings unattended while they went swimming. They even tolerated us as intrusive tourists.
We greatly enjoyed Vienna’s public pools and bathing beaches, but I must admit that comparing them with our own reality—in my case, the city of Terrassa—left a bittersweet feeling. Vienna’s example shows that we need not only more swimming pools, but also a renewed commitment to the idea of the public pool as both climate and social infrastructure, and as an urban right.
With extreme heat now becoming a recurring feature of our summers, ensuring that everyone can swim, cool off, and find a comfortable place in the city should not depend on owning a private pool, being able to pay high entrance fees, or living in the “right” municipality. The question should no longer be simply how many swimming pools our cities have, but rather: who can swim, where, at what cost, and under what conditions?
https://www.eldiario.es/opinion/tribuna-abierta/todo-mundo-agua-cat_129_13455493.html
Photos (xavi matilla)
01_Krapfenwaldbad / 02_Stranbad Gänsehäufel / 03_Bundesbad Alte Donau
