Zürich's 1,200+ drinking fountains: a model for urban cooling

Zürich has more than 1,200 drinking fountains, a density of 266 per 100,000 residents, far exceeding Basel's 143 per 100,000. The city documents their designs in district-by-district guides. Fountains range from abstract installations to contemporary models, serving as social landmarks and cooling infrastructure. Notable examples include a stone fountain on Limmatquai (2020), a green cast-iron Wallace fountain on Bahnhofstrasse, a sleek design on Münsterhof square (2017), the Hedwig Fountain on Lindenhof hill, and Otto Münch's 1938 'Small Fountain with a Gull' on Gustav-Gull-Platz. The article positions Zürich's fountains as inspiration for urban planners facing rising temperatures.