ABSTRACT
The public space, whether it is a library, supermarket, swimming pool or even a town square, is a little more accessible than it used to be for many citizens today. Welcome attention has been paid to the need to build ramps for those with physical disability, to provide audio prompts in addition to visual material and to offer large print versions of information cards or timetables.The picture is very uneven, with some countries, and indeed some areas within countries, having made much more progress than others; but the process has begun. For people with learning disabilities, the process is at a much earlier stage and they are often subject to many and varied forms of social exclusion (Armstrong 2003; Billington 2000; Riddell and Watson 2003).
