Gay village

A gay village (sometimes called a gay ghetto or gay enclave) is usually an urban geographic location with generally recognized boundaries where a large number of gay and lesbian people, as well as bisexuals and transsexuals live. They usually contain a number of gay-oriented establishments, such as gay bars or pubs, nightclubs, bathhouses, restaurants, bookstores, and other businesses.

Gays as gentrifiers

One of the aspects of planning history and the issue of urban space in which gays have been actors is the gentrification of numerous urban neighbourhoods and the patterns of gay residential development that are particular to the community. This is linked, in part, to the changing national and global economies which have resulted in the social and spatial restructuring of labour processes. Much of the heavy industry has been leaving North America for developing countries, where labour is significantly cheaper, while the remainder of such industries have moved out to suburban areas where land, labour, and taxes cost significantly less than in the central business districts (CBDs) of large cities. At the same time, the service sector has been steadily expanding, with investment entering high-tech industries, and most importantly, the improvement of corporate-managerial processes. Much of the corporate-managerial and service-sector investment has tended to be, not insignificantly, in the CBDs of large cities, and they have also tended to employ large proportions of low-wage and/or part-time labour, much of it female. The expansion of these jobs in CBDs has, for gays, constituted a significant part of the economic pull-factor to urban areas, complementing the attraction of the cities as centres of gay life. Many of these jobs have, historically, been performed by women (e.g., secretaries, food servers, store clerks) and, among the male minority in these jobs, a disproportionate number has typically been gay. Gay men have the added advantage over women in the service industry, however; they tend to make more, on average, than women performing the same type of work. Lauria and Knopp, professors at the University of New Orleans and University of Minnesota respectively, tie these processes to the spatial nature of the urban renaissance which was occurring at the time. They also argue that the ?first wave? of low-wage gay residences in these urban centres paved the way for other, more affluent gay professionals to move into the neighbourhoods; this particular group, with their higher wages and their large amount of disposable income, played a significant role in the gentrification of many inner city neighbourhoods. They also noted that the presence of gay men in the real estate industry of San Francisco was a major factor facilitating the urban renaissance of the city in the 1970s. In many ways, gay men were in an excellent position to become gentrifiers; they made more money than their female counterparts in every sector of the economy, and they had fewer dependants than heterosexual men, if any.

Related Topics:
Gentrification - Suburb - Central business district - Service sector - University of New Orleans - University of Minnesota - San Francisco

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