Beyond Accessibility: Preference for Natural Areas

Authors

  • Terry J. Brown
  • Rachel Kaplan
  • Gail Quaderer

Keywords:

ADA—American with Disabilities Act, Mobility Limitations, Universal Design, Natural Areas, Landscape Design and Planning, Environmental Preferences, Public Participation

Abstract

Making natural settings accessible is vitally important. At the same time, however, attention must be paid to the choice of settings that are made accessible. The purpose of this study was to ascertain the perceptions and preferences of individuals with mobility limitations as well as their companions or caregivers with respect to parks and nature places. The results (based on 197 surveys) provided support for similarities in preferences regardless of degree of limitation. Forested scenes were far preferred over open field scenes, regardless of ease of negotiating the area. Within these two landscape types, however, scenes with paths were favored. While the results showed substantial consistency, they also pointed to variations. To increase the likelihood that there is a strong match between accessibility and satisfying destinations, it is essential to gain the participation of the intended users.

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Published

1999-07-24

Issue

Vol. 33 No. 3 (1999)

Section

Research Papers

License

Sagamore Publishing LLC (hereinafter the “Copyright Owner”)

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