Public Beach on Inner Harbor
Healthy waterways mean healthy communities. The two are mutual indicators—or reciprocal cause and effect. We long for healthy streams, lakes, rivers, and oceans for our cities, but many are polluted and threatened, which in turn threatens city residents and visitors. We recognize that a robust, engaged citizenry is essential for promoting and stewarding healthy waterways. How better to cultivate an ethos of stewardship than by encouraging individuals to personally experience threatened resources? What better way to appreciate a river than to swim in it? This is the logic behind initiatives in cities around the world aimed at creating public beaches on urbanized waterways.
In some places, public swim areas have sprung up as part of an effort to reclaim post-industrial waterways or in response to shifting operations within active ports. Iconic swim areas in Copenhagen and Aarhus in Denmark are two such examples. In Paris, the floating Josephine Baker pool (on the Seine) and a pop-up swim areas on the decommissioned Canal de l’Ourq generate revenue from both tourists and residents, while drawing public attention and activity to the water’s edge.
Baltimore has always had a reciprocal relationship with the Chesapeake Bay and its tributary the Patapsco River. From the city’s founding, these waterways provided Baltimore’s residents with an array of natural resources and a convenient means of transport. Sadly, the industrial success and rapid urbanization that were enabled by Baltimore’s waterways contributed directly to their pollution and degradation. While the nearby Middle Branch River was considered safe enough for a public beach as recently as the 1950s, the Inner Harbor was, from Baltimore’s earliest days, plagued with raw sewage and industrial pollution, which forced recreational swimmers to look elsewhere.
For the past decade, a coalition of scientists, agencies, and non-profits has been working to raise awareness and concern for the health of Baltimore’s waterways by releasing an annual report card that measures the performance of Baltimore’s waterways against an array of benchmarks: bacteria levels, dissolved oxygen, pH, temperature, clarity, nutrient levels, etc. Anchor institutions, such as the National Aquarium, have launched a range of projects aimed at improving water quality, including a sophisticated floating wetland exhibit with integrated aeration that Jonathan helped design as part of the Aquarium’s Waterfront Campus Plan. While the Inner Harbor’s health is constantly threatened by pollution and climate events, the data suggests that for large chunks of the summer, water quality is actually quite good – even comparable to popular public beaches along the Bay – and could safely accommodate people swimming.
Earlier this summer, as COVID-19 was sparking a national conversation about public health and safe access to open space, the Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore engaged Jonathan Ceci Landscape Architects to generate a visionary plan for a public swim spot on Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. Our 2030 Vision for a new Harbor Swim Spot takes a fresh look at the form this may take and the experiences a recreational space in the Harbor could provide.
HARBOR SWIM SPOT
Our design calls for a spacious public swim zone in the southwest corner of the harbor, between Rash Field and West Shore Park. As civic infrastructure, the space is scaled to host a large number of visitors and is delineated by a sweeping circular boardwalk in a configuration suggestive of an atoll and lagoon—or of a gargantuan life ring. The boardwalk floats just above water level and is constructed of modular dock cubes—a buoyant product commonly used in the fabrication of marinas. Accessory features, including life-guard stands, a kayak rental booth, and beach umbrellas, are accented with Calvert black and gold from the Maryland flag to mark the zone as a festive civic gathering space. Visitors approach the dock from the promenade across ramps that bridge over open water and islands of floating salt marsh. Once on the ring, visitors can check out life-preserver vests and go swimming in either shallow waters (provided by a raised floor sections) or in deep water (where there is a floating trampoline). One can also sunbathe or lounge on the sand beach or stroll along the boardwalk enjoying Baltimore’s skyline and the sights and sounds of the active harbor.
As with other public beaches in Maryland, access to this beach will sometimes have to be restricted—especially when water quality is unfit for public contact. With storms, the city sometimes releases raw sewage directly into the Jones Falls which empties into the harbor. And with seasonal temperature fluctuations, the water column flips, stirring up sediments from the harbor floor. Such events cause spikes in turbidity and bacteria levels making the harbor unsafe for swimming. At such times, using messaging through social media and environmental graphics, the city can explain the science behind closures and share actionable information for promoting cleaner waters.
The time to mobilize is now. The city is in the midst of a $430 million overhaul of its sanitary sewers—a project aimed at curbing 80% of the city’s storm-triggered sewage overflows. Construction is scheduled to finish in 2021 and will secure a more swimmable harbor for more days out of every year. We are in striking distance achieving a swimmable harbor and are only missing the infrastructure that is necessary for a safe public swimming venue. The Harbor Swim Spot will fill this gap, introducing a rich variety of experiences that celebrate the Chesapeake Bay and demonstrate the benefits of good water stewardship.
Baltimoreans deserve the chance to enjoy the recreational value of the harbor. Help us advocate for this important civic and environmental investment.
(For a summary of the public debate about swimming in Baltimore’s harbor, check out the Bay Journal’s recent article: “Swimming and fishing safely in the Baltimore Harbor? Not so fast”.