Wednesday 3rd of july – from 10:30 to 18:30
Session C6 : River navigation, between managing impacts and uses
Challenges of Minor Inland Waterway Governance to Mitigate Pluvial Flooding in Peri-Urban Areas of Kolkata : Case of Buriganga, Morali, and Anjana
NATH Sankha Subhra
India
Short abstract : Municipalities located in the peri-urban areas in Kolkata face recurring challenges with pluvial flooding due to inadequate stormwater drainage systems and unplanned urban development. As the primary drainage of these municipalities depend on the minor inland waterways (MIW) like khal and rivulets going through them, silting up and clogging of MIWs severely affect the stormwater drainage capacity of these municipalities. Thus, in monsoon, the municipalities experience pluvial flooding and waterlogging, often leading to dengue and other health hazards. One proposed solution for the problem lies in the rejuvenation of the MIWs. However, in the flood management practice, rejuvenation of MIWs are rarely considered. The study tries to understand, what are the governance challenges for the rejuvenation of the minor inland waterways for pluvial flood mitigation? It tries to address the question by taking cases of Buriganga, Morali, and Anjana River. The rivers are all situated in the Sunderban Freshwater Swamp Forest bio-region and are located within 50 km of each-other. Among these, Buriganga has been successfully rejuvenated. Rejuvenation of Morali is in progress and rejuvenation of Anjana has been stalled. The paper tries to understand the forces and processes which are responsible for the varied outcome. The results show that the level of dependency of the river with people, proximity to human settlement, social capital etc. are responsible for the successful rejuvenation of MIWs.
Session C7 : Swimming in urban rivers
Swimming in the Vienne at Limoges: Reviving collective stories and practices of the River
DELLIER Julien, LINTON James, MASCLET Olivier, CHUPIN Julie
France
Short abstract : This communication is centred on an initiative to organize a series of collective swimming in the Vienne in Limoges. Started in July 2024 at the initiative of three social science researchers, these swims have become a monthly event, involving an enthusiastic group of bathers driven by the shared desire for a sensitive and experiential approach to the river.
These swims allow us to revive a practice that we common at the beginning of the 20th century, but has been largely forgotten since. These collective swims, bringing together 10 to 30 people, effectively restore in the public space an authorized but totally ignored practice. Finally, through this form of transgression of local practices on the banks of the Vienne in Limoges, we seek to re-establish the link between the people of Limoges and the Vienne to enable the latter to be used as a vector for adaptation to climate change.
Analyzing media discourses on urban river bathing to anticipate drowning in the Grand Lyon area
PLICHON Almudena, NAVRATIL Oldrich, HONEGGER Anne
France
Short abstract : Over the past two decades, urban riverbanks have become increasingly frequented, as both their representations and design evolve. However, this phenomenon heightens an already significant drowning risk in cities, like Lyon (Maghakian et al., 2024), a risk that is all the more intensified as climate change and booming summer heatwaves make people seek water freshness. Given this situation, can media discourses provide insights to i) better understand urban bathing in rivers and ii) anticipate drowning risk in Lyon? We study bathing and drowning in the Rhône and Saône rivers and Miribel-Jonage lakes, in the Grand Lyon, from 2007 to 2024. We draw on four datasets: a corpus from national and local news articles, the messages from two content creators on social media, data from Google search engine, and official drowning data in the Grand Lyon (source: SMDIS rescuers). Our findings reveal the evolutions of the representations of urban bathing, which is established progressively as a current news topic and subject for public debate, even though informal bathing in rivers has never stopped. We can also retrieve from media discourses some facts about bathing and drowning in the territory under study, in order to apprehend their spatiality and temporality.
Swimming in European Urban Contexts: Copenhagen, Paris, and Gothenburg
BALMASEDA DOMÍNGUEZ Alba
Italy
Short abstract : The so-called river or wild swimming is gaining popularity across European capital cities, as urban waterways are being reclaimed for communal bathing. Inspired by examples of Swiss cities like Bern, Zurich, and Basel, cities such as Copenhagen, Paris, Gothenburg, are transforming their urban waterways into accessible recreational spaces. Renewed access to these spaces once—reminiscent of a time before pollution rendered them unusable—brings significant benefits: improved urban health, strengthened social cohesion, mitigation of global warming effects, expanded public leisure spaces, and a deeper reconnection with nature. However, the practice of bathing in urban waterways raises complex questions in connection with architecture and urban planning. While clean water is essential for public safety, how can cities balance public access to rivers and canals with the protection of fragile ecosystems and local economy? This contribution draws on examples featured in a PhD study on Urban Bathing at the University of Roma Tre. The projects developed in Copenhagen, Paris, Gothenburg, will be analyzed to explore the spatial strategies these cities have implemented to make their waters bathable.
The rise and fall (and rise again?) of river bathing in Rotterdam
RABÉ Paul
Netherlands
Short abstract : This presentation will trace the history of swimming in rivers and canals of Rotterdam over time. It will demonstrate that opportunities for river swimming are directly linked to broader urban policies and evolving socio-cultural mores—as well as environmental factors. River (and canal) swimming can thus be regarded as a barometer of broader trends in urban life.
Prohibited swimming and pirate swimmers: the case of the Ourcq polaires after the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games
HACHET Benoît
France
Short abstract : Participatory study of the winter bathing practices of an informal Parisian group faced with the ban on bathing in the Ourcq Canal
Transforming the harbour for greater public engagement: the new harbor baths of Copenhagen. Spatial development, bathing practices, and new harbor governance
BRUN Clément
France
Short abstract : The practice of urban swimming in the Copenhagen harbor, with its thirteen official harbor baths and numerous informal areas, embodies a dynamic of spatial and cultural transformation, where the interface between city and water is reimagined. For 25 years, Copenhagen’s harbor has undergone redevelopment to convert former industrial wastelands into residential neighborhoods and leisure spaces integrated into urban life. These baths, now emblematic of the reclamation of the waterfront, offer gathering places and bodily experiences aligned with a Nordic culture of the active, exposed body.
Our doctoral research, through a combined approach of sociology of usage and architectural analysis of these amenities, explores this appropriation of the quays by urban residents. Our participant observation on-site has captured how inhabitants transform these spaces into everyday places imbued with symbolic identity and community meaning.
In this context, harbor baths unfold as plural spaces: some are designed as “urban beaches,” evoking a seaside and hedonistic imaginary, while others are arranged for a more athletic public, seeking safety and structure. This architectural and functional diversity reflects multiple and evolving uses, extending beyond simple summer recreation. By examining the daily appropriation of these spaces, this study contributes to understanding how urban swimming participates in a reconfiguration of public space in Copenhagen. It questions the tension between individual freedom and urban regulation, illustrated by the unpermitted appropriation of certain bathing areas. This analysis thus offers insights for cities aiming to reintroduce swimming in their urban spaces and invites a reconsideration of riverfront design within the context of waterfront renaturation and revitalization.