Over the course of the semester, my research included a literature review, where I took a deeper look into outdoor recreation spaces as they pertain to the disabled community, with a specific focus on preference of users. Next, I worked to secure interviews with relevant community actors and organizations. Although there was less interest and overall response, given the on-going COVID-19 pandemic, I am happy to share my findings from those I was able to conduct. Finally, my group presented our information to our instructional team on the project’s three focus groups: Disadvantaged Youth, New Americans and Native Americans, and the Disabled Community. Our webpage is a culmination of the semester’s research findings.
Health and Well-being
There has been exhaustive research surrounding the importance of outdoor recreation and nature on mental and physical health. However, the associated benefits on members of the disabled community have largely been left out this research.
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- Areas where consideration has been made, indicate that nature-based tourism and recreation provide members of the disabled community with a sense of personal challenge, increased self-confidence, and aiding in self-understanding.
Cited by Saitta, M. et al. (2018) as predominately benefiting three major areas of health: physical, mental, social, including psycho-emotional and spiritual health, the limited amount of research in this area indicates that there can be longstanding benefits far beyond physical exercise or event mental health for these communities. Confidence levels, social interaction, and improved emotional quality of life were contributed to outdoor use, stating that, “Urban parks, when accessible and usable, foster a community spirit and social capital via developing respect and inclusion for a diversity of age and ability” (Saitta, M. et al. 2018).
Barriers – Access and Mobility
Physical barriers can be broken into two parts: access to space and mobility within the space.
- Access: Design of outdoor recreation spaces
- Use of handrails
- Stairs
- Proximity to restrooms and restaurants
- Limited or non-inclusive parking spaces
- Mobility: Physical composition of paths and trails
- Path material
- Width
- Degree of slope
- Coloring of pavers
- Mobility: Adaptive Technology
- Signage – use of braille, sign placement along trails
- Audio alternative
- Charging stations – wheelchair plug-ins in parking lot
- Virtual trails – interactive maps
Barriers – Community Perception
As a minority group, the disabled community faces many of the same discriminatory practices and associated negative stigmas as other groups.
- For generations, people with disabilities have had to stand up for and actively pursue their independence from institutions and restrictive practices
- Today, 1 in 10 families are impacted by disabilities with 3% of the world’s population falling under the disabled umbrella
When engaging in outdoor recreation and metroparks, the disabled community has an equal desire for experience, requiring that society engages in open inclusivity through all aspects, including our use of natural spaces
Barriers – Education
A commonality between research articles and conducted interviews is the need for further education measures for park visitors, as well as a crucial need for training and understanding from employees and staff members of the metroparks themselves
- It was found that peoples with disabilities actually place a greater emphasis on employee attitudes and treatment when at parks than the physical accessibility of the park
- Trainings on appropriate terminology and accessible sharing of information, inclusive signage, and park resources would be beneficial
- Education for park visitors highlighting inclusive use and “the right to be here too” for all visitors, regardless of ability, race, etc. are further areas of engagement that would benefit all metropark visitors
Focus on Preference
Overall, my findings (thus far) indicate that there is a desired movement beyond physical accessibility measures alone, to actively pursuing the preferences and wants of disabled community members themselves.
- Opening the discussion and design process of our parks and natural spaces to include the opinions and wants of the people for which their use is intended will improve accessibility AND overall satisfaction
The challenge moving forward is to balance the importance of physical accessibility and mobility while ensuring that it does not continue being weighted higher than all other issues.