National Geographic, 2021

From white violence to the rise of exclusive swim clubs, people of color have long faced barriers to American swimming pools.

Photo credit: In the 1920s, swimmers cool off at the Fairgrounds Pool in Saint Louis, Missouri. The enormous pool could hold tens of thousands of people—but was originally only open to whites. When the pool attempted to desegregate in 1949, white rioters beat the Black children who came to swim.

Photograph by W.C. Persons

Structural Racism in the Built Environment: How Inequity Shapes Who Gets to Swim, Play, and Cool Down in a Warming Climate

The Built Environment as a Social Determinant of Health

Where we live, play, and move determines how long—and how well—we live. The built environment, from parks and playgrounds (green spaces) to pools (blue spaces) and public gathering spots, is a powerful social determinant of health (SDOH). When communities of color are denied access to safe and affordable recreational infrastructure, the result is not only fewer opportunities for joy, connection, and physical activity. It’s a measurable public health crisis.

The disappearance of accessible public swimming facilities from marginalized neighborhoods is a clear example. Decades of disinvestment and privatization have left many families without safe, nearby places to swim or cool off. This contributes to:

• Health disparities: Limited access to water-based recreation worsens physical inactivity, obesity, and stress.

• Safety inequities: Children in marginalized communities face drowning rates five to ten times higher than their white peers (CDC, 2024) —an entirely preventable disparity tied to lack of access to early, positive water exposure.

• Economic strain: Communities with poor infrastructure face lower property values, reduced tax bases, and fewer community-based resources for youth development.

From Public Good to Private Luxury

As Heather McGhee documents in The Sum of Us (2021), America once invested proudly in public swimming pools—vast, democratic spaces where thousands of residents gathered to swim for free. By the 1930s, nearly every major city had one. But when the courts ordered these pools desegregated, white officials and residents in many towns chose to drain or demolish them rather than share the water.

Entire parks departments were shuttered; community centers padlocked; even zoos were sold off rather than allow equal access. What replaced these public goods was a wave of privatization—members-only swim clubs, gated neighborhood pools, and private recreation leagues that excluded by both cost and culture.

McGhee calls this “draining the pool”—a metaphor and a literal act. As she writes, “For white Americans, the word ‘public’ did not mean ‘of the people.’ It meant ‘of the white people.’”

This legacy persists today. The privatization of recreation and the explosion of pay-to-play youth sports have created a new geography of exclusion. When it costs hundreds or thousands of dollars to join a swim team or access lessons, structural racism in the built environment is simply rebranded as “market choice.”

Climate Change, Cooling Access, and New Layers of Inequity

Environmental realities—drought, extreme heat, and water scarcity—add new urgency. Public pools could serve as climate resilience infrastructure, protecting residents during heat waves and offering affordable cooling access. Yet in many low-income areas, pools remain closed for most of the summer due to maintenance costs, staffing shortages, or water restrictions.

Meanwhile, urban planning decisions continue to shape who lives in flood zones and who has access to safe, climate-adaptive infrastructure. Neighborhoods with fewer trees, more concrete, and higher exposure to heat and flooding often mirror the same redlined boundaries that defined inequity generations ago.

This is not accidental. These spatial patterns reflect decades of racist zoning, inequitable infrastructure investment, and environmental neglect. When floodwaters rise, it’s often the same communities—those without cars, pools, or cooling centers—left waiting for rescue.

For Further Reading/Learning: Structural Racism in the Built Environment

Articles 

• The Decline of America's Public Pools. The Atlantic, 2024.

  • As summers get hotter, public pools help people stay cool. Why are they so neglected?

• When It Comes to Swimming, Why Have Americans Been Left On Their Own?; Mara Gay, New York Times, 2023.

• What Public Pools Teach Us About Racism's Costs. American Medical Association, 2021.

• A Culture of Drowning: The Ethical Exigency of Investing in Public Pools. Fordham University Center for Ethics Education, 2024.

• A Drained Swimming Pool Shows How Racism Harms White People, Too. CNN, 2021.

• The forgotten history of segregated swimming pools and amusement parks. The Conversation, 2019. 

Books

• Contested Waters: Dr. Jeff Wiltse

  • Portion of interview:

    • GM: You note that municipal pools are in danger of disappearing. Why?

    • JW: Two recent trends indicate that municipal pools may be in danger of extinction. For one, cities are building relatively few new pools and closing many older pools. The slowdown in new pool construction dates back to the 1950s and was, in part, a response to racial desegregation. When black Americans gained equal access to municipal pools, white swimmers generally abandoned them for private pools, and cities downgraded the public importance of swimming pools. Next, during the fiscal crises of the 1970s, cities put off costly repairs and maintenance on pools, and they consequently crumbled into disrepair. This was followed by several waves of pool closures during the 1980s and 1990s. The money exists to maintain existing municipal pools and build new ones, but contemporary Americans do not value public recreation as much as previous generations—now most prefer and can afford private and domestic forms of recreation.

      • At the same time that many cities are closing existing pools, suburban communities are generally choosing to build water theme parks rather than traditional pools. 

      • These facilities offer more direct entertainment for children—who, according to some commentators, find traditional pools boring—and reduce liability because of the decreased risk of drowning. Whereas public swimming pools were vital social and cultural institutions during the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s, they are now marginal in American life.

• The Pool is Closed: Heather Palmer. Concept of "Ghost Pools."

• Why We Swim: Bonnie Tsui

• The Sum of Us: Heather McGhee. Read an excerpt here.

Podcasts

• How Racism Kept Americans Out of Pools. Code Switched, 2025. 

• Drowning to Swim with Mara Gay. America Dissected, 2023.

News Media

State of New York: Investing in aquatic infrastructure 

• Governor Hochul is investing in aquatics infrastructure, including via a 150m bill that includes a floating pool on the Hudson River.

• At the mayoral level there has also been a strong commitment: 

  • “Mayor Eric Adams announced on Tuesday that the city would devote $1 billion to improving the city’s network of public pools over the next five years, though the new funding won’t help sweltering residents this year. Eventually, it will cover the costs of building two new indoor pools and renovating existing facilities.”

Next Module:

Excerpt from "Racism Drained the Pool"