LONDON—Had you visited a London pool during this sweltering summer, you would have found it quieter than expected. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the city’s public swimming amenities have moved to booking systems that favor those who can plan days ahead, pay upfront, and spare an adult for the afternoon. Many Londoners fail that test.

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But London Mayor Sadiq Khan has committed to making the city swimmable. His Clean Rivers and Waterways Plan, launched in July, seeks to widen access across ten strategic locations by 2036, with partners committing around £1.8 billion ($2.4 billion) by 2030. Still, the plan’s success will depend on whether its 48 projects are governed as one portfolio with a single overarching objective, as opposed to featuring 48 projects with 48 separate owners. That is the difference between a program and a mission.

Cities around the world are recognizing pools and other “blue spaces” as critical forms of climate infrastructure. After modernizing its sewers and treatment facilities through the 1990s, Copenhagen opened its first harbor bath at Islands Brygge in 2002, lending momentum to a model that has since been exported to Oslo and New York City. Paris spent €1.4........

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