It’s a Wednesday afternoon in late June, and Philadelphia is on its fifth day of the first heat wave of the summer. As temperatures climb to 95 degrees, residents of Mill Creek flock to the best place in the neighborhood to cool down: Fletcher Pool.
Public spaces like Fletcher Pool are essential in a city that’s expected to get a lot more extreme heat in a warming world. Between 1971 and 2000, according to the City, Philadelphia had an average of four days per year that reached 100 degrees Fahrenheit. By 2099, the city could experience 55 such days annually. That kind of heat can cause serious health problems, especially for infants, children, people aged 65 years or older and those with certain chronic medical conditions.
Fletcher Pool — which is adjacent to a recreation center, a playground and a sprayground — is one of more than 60 outdoor public pools that will be open throughout the summer. For the Mill Creek community, it’s an especially meaningful place. In 2023, the pool and recreation center were renamed for Tiffany Fletcher, a Parks & Recreation employee who was killed by a stray bullet while working at the pool in 2022. The center has since received more than $3 million in upgrades.
At a commemoration ceremony in 2023, City Councilmember Jamie Gauthier underscored the role of Fletcher Pool — and public spaces generally — in making Philadelphians healthy, happy and safe. “The City must provide fully staffed and fully operational public spaces for young people — and the entire neighborhood — to safely gather, play and build community. Because when we give neighbors playgrounds, parks and pools they can be proud of, we are showing that we care, and an investment in their well-being is one worth making,” she said.
