The “Policy-Implementation” Gap in Natural Heritage System Planning: An Analysis of Mount Pleasant, Brampton, Ontario

Does the existing natural landscape shape new communities? This study analyzed whether the natural heritage goals for new development as articulated in municipal planning policy were implemented successfully. Mount Pleasant, Brampton, Ontario, a recently-built community was used as a case study. This research reviewed how the planning process unfolded by analyzing the planning policies and studies produced through the development process. The lenses through which this analysis was performed are environmental planning approaches including landscape ecology, ecodesign, green infrastructure, and the ecosystem approach. There is a policy-implementation gap between landscape policy and planning practice, meaning that there is a failure to translate policies and plans into sustained on-ground outcomes for conservation. The analysis found that the new community did not reflect natural heritage policies. The Natural Heritage System planning process was not based on the existing natural features, rather, it was driven by maximizing developable area from the very beginning of the planning process. This paper concludes with suggestions about how planners can work towards closing this policy-implementation gap in order to create better conservation outcomes.