In a society, such as that of Québec, dominated by the capitalist mode of production, one of the essential functions of the State is to insure the reproduction of capital to the benefit of the upper classes. That function is particularly manifest in the field of environmental planning which generally appears as a support and a screen for the ideological and economic recuperation of special regions. This role and its operation are illustrated in the case of the island of Orleans, situated on the Saint-Lawrence river, a few miles downstream from Québec city. The isle of Orleans occupies a favored position in Québec history and literature. Autonomously attractive arod interesting, it has been the object of urban encroachment, particularly rapid since the construction, in 1935, of a bridge linking it to the mainland. A series of legislative measures has simply orchestrated that penetration and the subordination of an area in rural dress to the interests of the city and of a class of owners increasingly selected and identifiable. Classified as an historical district in 1969, the island is said to be « community heritage », which should read « merchandise ». The run on that merchandise sterilizes the agricultural countryside and negates in the same process its so-called nature as a community heritage.