(Re)-discovering rivers benefits in the City: a One Health approach

Abstract

Abstract In the context of climate change and increasing urbanization, urban bathing is emerging in France and elsewhere, thus bringing us to question how we can maximize the benefits for the health of populations and minimize the risks. The multidisciplinary URB-bain project studies the feasibility of bringing bathing back to the urban environment. In a One Health approach, it combines 1/ the study of health risks associated with the chemical and microbiological analyses quality of the water of two potential bathing sites (Metz, France) and 2/ a socio-historical and political approach to the use of urban bathing in France, Europe, and Canada. This paper will present the first results of axis 2. Two types of qualitative data were collected: semi-structured interviews and documentation. Interviews were conducted with technicians, decision-makers, and NGOs. Eighteen interviews were performed (10 in Metz, France, 3 in Paris, and 5 in Quebec, Canada), recorded, transcribed, and analyzed (N'Vivo 12©). Other sites were documented (Copenhagen, Berlin). The causality model between urban bathing and health developed within the framework of the project and the principles for operationalizing the One Health concept (collaboration, coordination, communication, capacity building) guided the analysis. Documentation analysis showed a renewed interest in urban bathing in France since the 1990s, culminating in 2017 in Paris with the opening of a pool in the Canal de la Villette under pressure from citizens and motivated by the hosting of the Olympic Games in 2024. In France, health considerations focused on regulatory issues based on bacteriological quality for the institutions. The water bodies’ ecological and chemical status is neither a concern nor a One-health approach. Social accessibility and gender equity in the public space are important issues. The analysis of the interviews, still in progress, will help to put the initial results into perspective with the other sites studied. Key messages • Urban bathing is a public health issue in a context of climate change. • Urban bathing is a one-health issue.