A Practical Approach for Evaluating Cultural Heritage Landscapes: Lessons From Rural Ontario

The identification and conservation of cultural heritage landscapes (CHL) is becoming a standard part of planning practice. In Ontario, Canada, the provincial government issued a directive in 2005 to mandate protection of CHLs. Since that time, local and regional planners have been active, operationalizing CHL identification and developing appropriate land use regulations for their preservation. This article uses the study of a a rural landscape centred on the last surviving covered bridge in Ontario to illustrate how focus groups and web-based participation can be used to establish the significance of an area and to build recommendations for its designation and protection.