Over the summer between my freshman and sophomore year of high school, I applied for my first job. I had never imagined working for the City of Spokane (much less as a lifeguard), but with new aquatic centers set to open that year and a free summer schedule, it seemed like an interesting way to spend July and August. Two years earlier, City residents had voted to tax themselves more than $45 million to renovate the aging facilities, among other parks projects.

When the new Comstock Pool opened, I was there lifeguarding for the first time, and I understood why the community had fought so hard to renovate and restore them. 

Spokane’s pools are community gathering places. They are workout facilities—many of them offer water aerobics and lap swim. Families can sign their children up for affordable, high-quality swimming lessons or a competitive swim team. Open swim offers a respite for summer heat, and evening sessions offer a quieter, family-friendly option. And teenagers, as I was, can give back to their neighborhood facilities while earning some cash at the same time. (I ended up working summers at local pools in various roles for around seven years.)

These facilities are true gems.

Over the summertime, when schools are out of session, our local pools—in addition to community centers, libraries, and parks—serve a key community need for connection and interaction. This “social infrastructure” has immense power to bring neighborhoods together, empower families, enable year-long and life-long learning, and provide safe, worthwhile activities for kids. 

The Spokane Youth Card program, which launched as a pilot this summer, provides a strong example of this model. At no cost, kids can check out a card from a local library, providing access to unlimited rides on STA buses, unlimited skate rentals at Riverfront Park, and recreation programs with Spokane Parks. In the future, the card might include local pools and other facilities.

Taking it a step further, while access to facilities (and transportation) alone provides a great benefit for local children, many families still struggle to afford life-enriching programs which all kids should have the opportunity to enjoy. Perhaps a future iteration of the program could include deeper programmatic offerings as well, such as free or discounted swim lessons, summer camps, and arts programs. Additional partner organizations could be added, extending the card’s reach and impact. And ideally, students could have access to these programs simply by showing a student ID, without the added requirement of checking out a Youth Card.

Hopefully the Spokane Youth Card program encourages us to think carefully about ways we can further empower both children and adults to make use of city programs and services. Between the pools, our libraries, Riverfront Park, and many parks and other assets, we have built a fantastic network of “social infrastructure” across the city. Now we just have to make using them as easy, accessible, and enjoyable an experience as possible—for everyone. 

Anthony Gill is an economic development professional and founder of Spokane Rising, an urbanist blog focused on ways to make our city a better place to live.