Mermaids, knitted costumes and pink carbolic soap: making meaning and translating social space in community-led pools

摘要

This paper explores the preservation of social infrastructure in the case of three community-led swimming baths in the UK and their attempt to create, communicate and translate a meaning and ethos beyond what the term 'swimming pool' normally conveys. Using memory, historical narratives and creative arts as communicative tools, along with a model for organising pool space based on the diverse needs of the users in the surrounding locale, these social spaces have challenged neoliberal economic realities and offered renewed access to historical places which serve as connective tissue for their users.