Cities like Copenhagen, which has successfully converted much of its canalway into programmable public park-type spaces, are serving as a model for Sydney and other world metropolises with similar water park-like developments proposed for the near future.

Sydney Harbour has seen shark episodes on and off throughout the past century, leading the cities to install safety netting and a host of harbor-adjacent public pools that are already very popular. The Harbour itself faces a serious flooding threat by mid-century in addition to a cleanup effort that will abate pollution caused by runoff from some of the reclaimed land around the Harbour. 

"This vision rests on improving water quality," Sydney's Lord Mayor Clover Moore told CNN. "Some parts of our harbor are highly polluted and cleaning up these waterways so they can be used for recreation and to improve biodiversity will require cooperation across all levels of government."

A number of harbor revitalization schemes have been proposed by Moore, including the floating swimming pool on the Glebe Foreshore, designed by Andrew Burges Architects. The firm has been working with the mayor’s office for the past two years on the design of the pool, which in some ways is a replacement to a scrapped 2016 plan that would have installed a similar intervention into the Potts Point area of Sydney. 

The proposed pools will occupy sites in Beare Park, Pirrama Park, and Glebe Foreshore, a series of walkable public parks which connects Bicentennial Park to the city’s popular fish market. ABA had previously completed Sydney’s Gunyama Park Aquatic and Recreation Centre. The Centre currently stands as the city’s second-largest aquatics facility. Construction details for the new development were unavailable at press time.