In the rhythm of city life, one natural element has quietly waited to reclaim its rightful place: water. Not just as scenery or utility, but as a force for wellbeing. Thanks to a bold initiative led by Noor Osse, graduate of Breda University of Applied Sciences and intern at Sports + Vitality, that wait may finally be over. Her project, the Wellness Wave, brings a new vision to urban environments. One in which blue spaces like rivers, canals and harbors become the heartbeat of healthier cities.
What began as a graduation project has grown into something far more ambitious: a practical, future-forward toolkit that helps cities turn dormant or underused water areas into spaces of connection, reflection and vitality. Noor’s mission was rooted in a belief that wellness is not a luxury, but a basic urban need. Drawing inspiration from Nordic models in cities like Oslo and Copenhagen, she developed a waterway to make blue urban wellness a tangible reality in the Benelux region.
At the heart of the project is a visual guide called the Wellness Waterway, a clear and actionable framework to guide municipalities, planners and urban designers through every stage; from the rising awareness of wellness, to stakeholder engagement, to design, implementation and long-term operation. It’s a toolkit grounded in deep research, combining literature review, trend analysis, expert interviews, regulatory insight, seven international case studies and field testing with students. But above all, it is rooted in empathy, with the city, with nature and with people.
Noor defines wellness in eight dimensions, including emotional, social, environmental and spiritual wellbeing. It is not just about jogging paths or gym infrastructure. It’s about nurturing human connection between people, nature and place. It’s about making city life more livable by turning every drop of water into a source of health and joy.
Key to the success of such transformation is collaboration. Noor's project proposes a five-step engagement process to bring together urban planners, health officials, community groups, ecologists and investors. Cities can no longer afford to operate in silos. In the words of one expert, “We increasingly need dialogue between sport, health and environment to ask: can we work together?” The answer lies in co-creation, with citizens actively involved in shaping the public spaces they will use and love.
But not every space is ready to become a wellness hub. That’s why the toolkit includes a robust site suitability checklist that looks at spatial, ecological, political, and social factors; questions of safety, accessibility, water quality, infrastructure, zoning, funding and community ownership. Urban wellness isn’t just about where you build. It’s about why you build, for whom, and with whom.
“... your waterfronts are waiting. Not just to be seen, but to be felt, lived and shared.”
The project draws insight from some of Europe’s most inspiring wellness locations. In Copenhagen, floating saunas blend seamlessly into the cityscape. In Gothenburg, phased design and ecological planning are key. In Helsinki, public water spaces are seen as social commons. And in Oslo, cultural and wellness spaces merge into multifunctional, inclusive experiences. These case studies offer more than aesthetic inspiration, they reveal the deeper, systemic work of sustaining volunteer-based projects, navigating gentrification and ensuring affordability and access for all.
The Wellness Wave doesn't stop at design. It dives into the full lifecycle of a project. From early stakeholder involvement to pilot interventions, refinement, funding, programming, maintenance and long-term community adoption. It even provides KPIs to measure impact at every stage. What the project makes clear is that real transformation is not linear. It’s cyclical. Cities must move beyond “build and forget” and shift to adaptive planning, where spaces evolve alongside community needs.
One of the most critical barriers is funding. While cities may allocate budgets for infrastructure, few commit to the social programming that keeps wellness projects alive. This project challenges that mindset. The Wellness Wave argues for cyclical budgeting models and shows how private sector engagement can grow. If projects are reframed not as leisure upgrades, but as tools for public health, ecological resilience and placemaking. It’s a question of narrative as much as numbers.
The Wellness Wave does more than call attention to missed opportunities. It offers a hopeful, doable vision. It says to cities: your waterfronts are waiting. Not just to be seen, but to be felt, lived and shared. It’s a reminder that the future of urban wellness doesn’t only lie in more infrastructure, it lies in how that infrastructure is used, loved and nurtured.
Cities are ecosystems. Their wellness is our wellness. And as the work so beautifully shows, water may just be the element that reconnects it all. With the right tools, a bit of courage and collective action, we can turn the tide.
Noor Osse research student @ Breda University of Applied Sciences / ESWAM