Way back in July 2007, I spent a month studying in Paris. Like any nineteen-year-old dumbass francophile, I remember feeling excited and a little smug, but also wildly uncomfortable in my skin — in a new place, with people I didn’t know, surrounded by a culture I only knew about from textbooks.

It was my first time leaving the east coast of North America and my brain was downloading and processing an overwhelming amount of knowledge. In these days days just before the help of ubiquitous iPhones, I learned how to shop for groceries at Monoprix, use the metro for daily commuting and exploring, and other necessities like navigating Fnac to purchase the final Harry Potter book on release day. I returned to New York and felt like everything was a little duller, like I was playing life on easy mode once the need to think in a foreign language was alleviated.

When I was in Paris that first time, I also saw a few urban concepts that were totally new to me, and frankly opened my brain to what cities could be. One of these concepts was Vélib — the bike share system that, at the time, I falsely thought was uniquely Parisian, but the idea just hadn’t hit the US yet. Another was Paris Plages (Paris Beaches), the temporary sandy setup on the banks of the Seine. That’s right! Paris has beaches!

For college student me, and my new friends, Paris Plages provided was an easy place to hang out without spending money (I was so broke) and without needing to think too hard. It was a space to recharge our mental batteries and take a break from all of the figuring-things-out, just a quick metro ride from our temporary home. I only went once, but to simply sit in the sun and people watch felt like the city was giving us a reminder that we could pause to exist. (And listen to Cartel songs on an iPod — it was 2007, after all.)

A main idea behind Paris Plages is to serve those who aren’t able to escape to the coast during the months when the weather is hot and Paris is sleepy. To create the plages between July and early September, the city sets aside a few areas of roadways along the water and adds sand, chairs, hammocks, umbrellas, and even palm trees for full effect — designed to create comfortable, family-friendly areas for citizens and visitors to enjoy their leisure time. There are spots for activities like swimming (not in the river, don’t worry), games, and live music, and restaurants and bars are a few steps away, energizing local businesses as well.

My experience was during the sixth year of Paris Plages, and it’s been ongoing since — even in 2020, with onsite Covid testing. One reason for its popularity is that Paris Plages are easily accessible via public transportation by those living around the city and suburbs. (I can’t help but think about Paris Plages in contrast to Robert Moses excluding lower-income beach access in New York by designing bridges that were too low for buses to pass under.) There is something sorta heartwarming about public activities that are free and open to everyone.

Dubai has their own version of making beaches accessible to people, where it’s the climate that can otherwise block outdoor enjoyment. The new night beaches are illuminated during the cooler overnight hours, creating a unique and lively way for people to gather, swim, and play.

Recalling Paris Plages and learning recently about Dubai’s night beaches made me think more deeply about how Albany (my own city) is largely cut off from the Hudson River because of a major highway. Other cities have successfully reconnected neighborhoods and business districts to waterways, so there’s some hope. (When I once visited for work, I was kinda blown away by how Cincinnati revitalized their riverfront.)

Like greenery and parks, public beaches add richness to quality of life, making a city feel more hospitable to all. Access to green spaces and blue spaces will continue to be critically important for equitable urban design, not to mention designing for climate change. If you know other good examples of how cities have creatively enhanced public blue spaces, I’d love to hear about them!

miscellany

• IT’S VIRGO SEASON, PEOPLE! I’m not really an astrology believer, and yet… I really am a bonafide Virgo. I’m nothing if not year-round, back-to-school vibes. (I think it makes me a good writer, gardener, and business owner, but a terribly boring party companion.) The Cut just published a piece on getting your life in order using Virgo traits: caring for yourself and thinking small to think big.

• LEGO makes Braille Bricks to help kids learn and use Braille in their play. Apparently, learning Braille is on the decline because of other assistive technologies, and LEGO created a way for anyone to learn how to read Braille characters using the bumps on the bricks. The LEGO company researched how visually impaired kids play at home (that must have been a fun project!), helping them create inclusive games for families to play together using the new bricks.

• I recently learned about Hopepunk, a literary genre emphasizing kindness as rebellion. Frodo and Sam are one example, along with a bunch of sci-fi I've never read but probably slaps. “Hopepunk” may be a good label for my own life philosophy, if planting clover for the honey bees and putting social justice books in the Little Free Library can be considered resistance in the name of a better tomorrow.