In recent years, waterfront design and river swimming have become more important in Europe. In terms of mobility policy in particular, one should be aware of the natural local recreation opportunities on the shore. The connections between urban infrastructure and urban planning and political premises are crucial. In order to analyze the importance of river bathing, bathing opportunities and bank activities, the City of Stuttgart, as one city with great civil society commitment to the "Stadt am Fluss" ("City on the River"), was to be compared with Basel and Munich in the River Studies using a structured systematic observation with a standardisized checklist. These should also clarify the extent to which policy making influences the process and the target to compare the different cities.