Gatineau Park: Public Participation and Changing Park Purposes in the Windland-Urban Interface

Abstract

This study examines the planning process for Gatineau Park’s 2005 master plan, specifically the issues of public participation and changing park purposes as they relate to recreation in the wildland-urban interface. Although the plan acknowledges that Gatineau Park, unlike other natural parks in eastern Canada, protrudes into a large urban area, the planning process did not involve a systematic survey of the views of current and potential park visitors as well as the diverse population in the region. The plan, by stating that the park will be “managed primarily for conservation then for recreational use” (National Capital Commission 2005b, p. 19), created a dichotomy that does not reflect an increasing recognition of the complementary nature of park visitation and ecological integrity.