Design universel et milieu naturel: quelles contraintes et quelles solutions?

In recent years disability studies have seen the emergence of a new paradigm, which considers disability not as an impairment belonging to the person concerned, but as a situation which arises from the interaction between this person and an environment which is not adapted to that person's characteristics and needs. From this point of view, it is important to act on the environment in order to eliminate or limit the mismatch between the environment and the person and thus to allow the person to benefit from a greater social participation as an autonomous and responsible citizen. The universal design – the design of products and environments to be usable by all without the need for adaptation or special design – provides tools for implementing this idea. While there are constraints to implementation in an urban environment, the natural environment seems, at first sight, even more difficult to make universally accessible. After briefly putting these issues in context, the article presents the principles of universal design and tries to show that, on the contrary, it is very relevant also in a natural environment. The article explores solutions that make it possible to respond to three challenges which the authors consider particularly important: reconciliation of different needs, access to places where, at first sight, access seems more difficult than in an urban environment, and the participation of the people concerned as actors, not only visitors.