C.A. Pippy Park - A policy landscape
Researcher: Dr J. Shawyer
One of the several cultural landscape studies which has been
undertaken in this Department is C.A. Pippy Park. In 1966 a huge area
of 1,200 acres which straddled the city boundary was declared to be a
park by Premier Joey Smallwood. It was conceived as a landbank - a
magnificent parklike setting for a collection of three recently
constructed institutions: the new Legislative building, Memorial
University, and the Trades College. It was also intended to be a
recreational space for the growing city of St John's. However, this
park area was already occupied by 250 households, and much of its
land claimed by more than 400 property owners. There were many
research questions: What happened to the residents of the park? Did
the government purchase the land? And, how did the public view the
construction of roads and buildings within a recreational space? How
did the policy for the park evolve to accommodate the pre-park
landscape and to achieve its goals over its half century of
existence?
Many students in the Department of Geography have learned about
cultural landscapes through field trips to Pippy Park, and by being
employed as research assistants on the project. The research has been
presented to community groups and stakeholders.
Publication:
Shawyer, A.J. (2005) "The C.A.Pippy Park: A Park for a Capital City". In A.G. Macpherson (ed.) Four Centuries and the City. Perspectives on the Historical Geography of St John's, Department of Geography, Memorial University, 123-155.
A recreational mandate in a residential area
A former house site as passive space
A recreational trail
