Je suis à Paris! And three pieces on pools!

Je suis à Paris! I am in Paris for the 2025-26 school-year, on research and study leave from the University of Toronto Mississauga. More on Paris later, but suffice it to say I am already learning so much.

I have a lot (a *lot*) of writing projects to catch up on this year, but one of them will also be a return to this blog. While I realize that blogging is a little turn-of-this-century, I also look forward to it as a way to mark my research and writing practices in a public way, and to reflect on a number of research opportunities of the past few academic years.

One area I continue to work on and think about is the question of public bathing, and municipal swimming pools in particular. In this vein, I want to make note of three recent publications in this vein, one co-authored by me, and two other excellent provocations.

1. The TDSB is asking parents what programs to cut. This one would be a terrible mistake. This op-ed by my colleague Ahmed Allahwala and me, published in the Toronto Star from May 2025. We wrote this piece in response to a proposal to address the Toronto District School Board’s budget deficit, with pool closures being one of many proposals on the table. Here, my co-author and I argue that the budget deficit itself is the result of manufactured scarcity over decades, and that the pools in particular serve a community need that will not be restored if the pools are closed.
2. Où se baignera-t-on en France quand il n’y aura plus d’eau ? (Where will we swim in France when there is no more water?) This piece was published in July 2025, in the French online magazine, Metropolitique — sister publication to Metropolitics, where I sit on the North American editorial board. Here, the authors look at the rise of urban river swimming, and its possible fates in the face of global climate change, with a focus on France. A quick read, which efficiently takes us into how arguments about public space and out climate future intersect.
3. The Pool is Closed by Hannah S. Palmer (LSU Press, 2004). This book came out a year ago, and deals with the de-facto segregated private pools of the US South, which resulted from the policy choice to close many municipal pools rather than integrate them. While the South certainly is not the only region of the US affected by racism when it comes to public swimming, this book takes a personal look at how segregation plays out in how and where people spend their leisure time in shared spaces. I look forward to including this book in an upcoming book review on public bathing.