Swimming along coastal waters as a recreational activity was quite popular in Hong Kong in the 30s with swimming sheds in places including North Point. However, there are few of these structures left as more people swim in swimming pools (save for the swimming shed in Kennedy Town). Moreover, water pollution is a major issue in Hong Kong’s waters, including the Victoria Harbour. Since 1997, the government has embarked on a project to clean the harbour by constructing a 45km long sewage conveyance system 160 metres below ground so that most of the city’s sewage is channelled to a treatment plant on Stonecutter’s Island instead of directly into the waters. While pollution in the harbour has dramatically improved, it is unclear if more of the coastal waters could be suitable for the general public to swim in. Could the construction of something like the Ocean Imagineer, alongside further larger scale infrastructural projects, make swimming in the sea possible again for people living in places like North Point, providing more public recreational space in a dense city like Hong Kong?
在沿海地區的水域游泳是30年代香港挺受歡迎的休閒娛樂活動，在北角等地方設置了不少泳棚。但現在隨著更多人選擇在泳池游泳，泳棚的數量自然銳減。（唯一留存的泳棚便是位於堅尼地城的西灣泳棚） 此外，香港水域的水污是個大問題，這就包括了維多利亞港。自1997年起，政府便開始實施一個淨化海港的計劃，構造一條長達45公里的污水輸送系統，其輸送系統更是在藏在160米地底下，把整個城市的污水都輸送至昂船洲的污水處理廠，而不像以往直接將污水排入水中。雖然海港水污的問題得到大大的改善，但我們還是不清楚沿海水域是否適合讓公眾在裡頭游泳。如「蠔」想 一樣的硬體設施的構建，伴隨著其他大型基礎設施工程的開始，能不能讓居住在沿海地區如北角的人們再次進入海裡游泳，為香港這一個密集的城市提供更多公共休閒娛樂空間？
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