Karim Ziady
Councillor for Local Sport
City of Paris, France
Karim Ziady was elected as a councillor for the City of Paris in 2020. He is responsible for local sport, in the department for Sport and the Olympic and Paralympic Games, which will be held in Paris in the summer of 2024. He stresses the multifaceted significance of public swimming pools in Paris as spaces that are cultural hubs, promoting social mixing and community cohesion, transcending boundaries of gender, class and age. He sees them as essential services, not intended for profit, but serving diverse societal needs.
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An unprecedented investment
in the swimming pools of Paris
Introduced in 2015, the Nager à Paris programme is an ambitious plan by the city council of the French capital aimed at upgrading the city’s existing swimming pools and creating new pools. The plan has an investment budget of €150 million and 104 measures designed to achieve 100m2 of recreational water for every 10,000 inhabitants of Paris and its districts. Nager à Paris is an unprecedented plan to modernise Paris’s public swimming pools, with a very clear focus on their social impact.
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Citizen
participation
Faced with the obsolescence of the capital’s swimming pools, the city council undertook to act to improve swimming facilities in Paris. The initiative began with a far-reaching consultation with sports and swimming clubs and the general public to design the Nager à Paris plan. The 104 measures involve modernising Paris’s 39 existing public swimming pools and 9 school swimming pools, building 11 new pools and improving the operation, services and sustainability of all the city’s swimming facilities.
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Accessibility
and inclusivity
The programme prioritises accessibility, aiming to make pools available to all, including individuals with disabilities. It focuses on addressing the alarming percentage of children lacking swimming skills by integrating lessons into school curriculums.
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Enjoying the River Seine:
future initiatives
In response to climate change and rising urban temperatures, Nager à Paris explores future plans to utilise the River Seine for swimming activities. During the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the river will be the stage for open-water and triathlon swimming events. Part of the games’ legacy proposal includes creating open-air swimming areas, aligning with the city’s ecological transition and offering Parisians new ways to engage with their environment.
Other
projects
+POOL Project
New York, USA
Kara Meyer talks about the +POOL project in New York, a design for an innovative, environmentally sustainable floating swimming pool in the river, which launched a movement to reclaim urban waters for swimming.
Survival Swimming Centres
South Africa
Andrew Ingram describes how the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) in South Africa converts standard shipping containers into swimming pools to teach essential water survival skills, reduce drowning and create communities.
Victoria Prizzia shares insights into the POOL exhibition in Philadelphia, USA, showcasing how art and design can celebrate the cultural significance of swimming pools.
POOL Exhibition
Philadelphia, USA
