While Natural Areas are a source of wellbeing and provide many physical and psychological benefits for humans, accessibility for certain conditioned persons is close to inexistent. Nature can be challenging for everybody, however the arias that can be accessed are particularly restrictive for disabled persons, especially for Wheelchair Users.
Researched has shown that Wheelchair Users enjoy being in nature as this setting provides them with a feeling of belonging as opposed to the build environment that comes across as restricting (Cristea, 2017). This can be perceived as a strange feeling on behave of Wheelchair Users as cities, even without properly adapted infrastructure, are more accessible then Natural Areas whose challenges can be overwhelming for disabled persons.
The truth is, according to users, that even if Natural Areas are highly challenging, they do not feel any social pressure and the idea of being different fades away, as nature “just fits” (Interviewed user).
Even more interesting is the fact that Wheelchair Users are able to perceive, even if just from images, the obstacles and issues a certain setting can enact (Cristea, 2017). This ability is developed on the basis of their experience with the technology they are using and has been built upon the practices acquired with time. This fact demonstrates the valuable information based of embedded knowledge users have.
But how to use this knowledge?
As accessibility is a key issue in the disability discussions across political powers (A/RES/61/106, Annex I), the assumption is that the knowledge users have can lead to fitted solutions and enrich the spectrum of planning practices. However, as this particular discussion is quite new, there is no real movement towards solving this issues.
The present project is concerned with how the issue of accessibility to Natural Areas can be resolved and under what conditions the interest of actors can be focused on achieving Equal Accessibility.