Staff in the University of Dundee’s Geography and Environmental Science programme, Archive Services, and DJCAD continue to explore Baxter Park and what it means to the community today. The film below was shown at the 2024 Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers) Annual Conference in London.
Currently, we are investigating the differences between city parks and rural open spaces. Access to nature is proven to have public health benefits, whether they be physical or mental. Since the industrial revolution, there has been emphasis on the spiritual value of nature in literature, films, art and social media, however access to such places has not been equal. Environmental justice issues surrounding the unequal access to green spaces are part of what spurred Baxter Park into creation.
Parks in cities are social places. They carry out an important social function within cities and can have massive importance to communities in a different way to open spaces in more rural locations. Baxter Park is home to many community activities, albeit fewer following the Covid-19 pandemic. We want to explore which features of the park are important to users today, and how they compare to Joseph Paxton’s original plans for the Park as a social space for the working people of Dundee.
Since the park opened, it has shifted and changed to fit the needs of the people of Dundee. Click here for more information about the Park’s amenities, and how they have changed over the years.
