Geografie bariér

The first chapter of the book has multiple goals. It introduces the topics and the chosen title Geography of Barriers and discusses why it is important to study it. It shows how the above-mentioned accessibility of space, services and information depends on various types of barriers. Their influence on policies of accessibility in public space frames the whole book. Thinking about barriers is not limited to the dimension of streets or squares, but considers the broader meaning of barriers: in public buildings, institutions, services, websites, information systems, applications, etc. A barrier does not have to be material, it can be of social, communication, or technological nature. Our book distinguishes among three types of barriers. The first type is represented by those annoying material high curbs, missing guide, unlabeled earthwork, etc. – i.e., the barriers of our everyday life. When talking about examples of removing the first type of barriers, we already consider the second type – so-called political barriers one encounters in the introduction of policies of accessibility. The last type of barriers is devoted only peripheral attention, being represented by so-called post-socialist barriers, i.e., barriers stemming from the meaning of disability in a post-socialist society. All three types of barriers and their implications for establishing policies of accessibility in the Czech Republic are gradually introduced. This chapter also outlines the following chapters, their authors and their diverse approaches to disability. It offers a guide to the whole book, its structure, the language it uses, and explains various highlights and frames, inviting the readers to open the volume.