Reaping Nature's Dividends: The Neoliberalization and Gentrification of Nature on the Oak Ridges Moraine

Abstract

In this article, we follow the position that neoliberalism is not a state but a process of political, social, and economic development. We explore the neoliberalization of nature in the exurban region of a rapidly expanding metropolitan conurbation, the Greater Toronto Area in Ontario, Canada. Since 2001, the Oak Ridges Moraine legislation has been in place to halt urban sprawl and conserve the nature of a regionally significant landform. Our analysis suggests that the Oak Ridges Moraine legislation is consistent with neoliberalization but that the process needs to be seen in the context of half a century of rural and exurban gentrification. Longstanding class privilege is perpetuated through the aegis of legislation to preserve nature and protect the countryside. The legislation aestheticizes the Moraine as a unique landform, complements private-based conservation efforts, and voluntary policy initiatives, as well as marketizes the Moraine as a desirous place where wealthy residents reap nature's dividends. This analysis confirms the usefulness of neoliberalism as a concept, but suggests that it needs to be explored through a historically and place-based informed perspective. The case study also sheds light on nature's role in state action, and the rallying and shaping of a regional nature to support state power.