Urban Icon Beaches

City beaches known worldwide by their own name. The city is behind them, the beach is a public space used daily by residents, and the image of the beach is part of the image of the city. Almost every beach in this world is maintained rather than natural — nourished, widened, held by groynes — and several would not exist without that work. They are also public infrastructure used daily by residents rather than destinations used weekly by visitors, which is the reason they feel different from resort beaches of similar size. They are also the beaches most likely to have a genuine history attached — of surfing, of preservation campaigns, of protest — which the portraits record. Access is public in almost every case and the sand is walkable end to end.