Between “ghettos”, “safe spaces” and “gaytrification”
Exploring the specificities of LGBT neighbourhoods in Southern Europe
Keywords:
gay villages, city of quarters, LGBT, gaytrification, Lisbon, MadridAbstract
In recent decades, “LGBT neighbourhoods” or “gay Villages” have been gaining some prominence and particular identity characteristics within cities. As other areas that have been the main drivers of urban revitalization of inner cities, such as cultural and creative quarters or multicultural spaces, these territories stand out for their users and residents’ social practices, the specificities of their economic activity, or their contribution to creativity or social integration. More than community ghettos, these areas have been characterized by their openness and vibrancy, enhancing the coexistence of diverse lifestyles, trajectories and identities, but also by the contribution of LGBT people to the spatial gentrification through their strong commercial, residential and symbolic presence.
Drawing upon an empirical work developed in Lisbon (Príncipe Real district) and Madrid (Chueca district), based on in-depth interviews to LGBT residents and participant observation in these two neighbourhoods, this paper characterizes the main evolutionary trajectories and specificities of these two quarters. An analysis is made confronting the characteristics and contingencies of these areas with other previously studied cases in literature, identifying the existence of notable differences and suggesting evidence of significant specificities, which can constitute a “South European” approach to the reality of “gay Villages”. Some generic principles for urban planning are drawn out from the analysis.
References
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Camagni, R., Maillat, D., Matteacciolli, A. (eds) (2004), Ressources naturelles et culturelles, milieux et développement local, Neuchatel: EDES.
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Lauria, M., Knopp, L. (1985) “Towards an Analysis of the Role of Gay Community in the Urban Renaissance”, Urban Geography, 6 (2), pp. 152-169.
Lazzeretti, L. (2013) (ed.) Creative industries and innovation in Europe: Concepts, measures and comparatives case studies, London and New York: Routledge.
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Leroy, S. (2005) “Le Paris gay. Éléments pour un geographie de l’‘homoseuxalité’, Annales de Geographie, nº 646, pp.579-601.
Lizama, P. A. (2014) “Existe-t-il un quartier gay à Santiago du Chili ? Appropriation et distanciation d’un modèle urbain importé”, Annales de Géographie, n° 699, 2014/5, pp. 1123-1145.
Lugosi, P. (2007) “Queer consumption and commercial hospitality: Communitas, myths, and the production of liminoid space”, International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 27(3/4): 163-174.
Markusen, A. (2006), “Urban development and the politics of a creative class: Evidence from the study of artists”, Environment and Planning A, 38:10, pp. 1921-1940.
Markusen, A. (2007) “The urban core as cultural sticky place”, in D. Henckel, E. Pahl-Weber and B. Herkommer (eds.), Time Space Places, Berlin: Peter Lang Verlag, pp. 173-87.
Meneses, I. (2000) “Intimidade, norma e diferença: a modernidade gay em Lisboa”, Análise Social, vol. 34, n.º153, pp.933-955.
O’Connor, J., Wynne, D. (eds.) (1996) From the Margins to the Centre: Cultural Production and Consumption in the Post-industrial City, Aldershot: Arena.
Pilkey, B. S. (2013) “Queering Heteronormativity at Home in London“, A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, London: The Bartlett School of Architecture - University College London.
Pratt, A., Hutton, T. (2013) “Reconceptualising the relationship between the creative economy and the city: learning from the financial crisis”, Cities, 33, 86-95.
Robbins, J. (2011) Crossing through Chueca: Lesbian Literary Culture in Queer Madrid, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Ruiz, P. (2012) “Urbanism and Gay Identity “, New Visions for Public Affairs, Volume 4, Spring 2012, pp. 1-15.
Salinas, V. F. (2007) “Visibilidad y escena gay masculina en la ciudad española”, Documents D'analisi Geografica, 49, pp. 139-160.
Scott, A.J. (2000) The Cultural Economy of Cities, New Delhi, London and Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Scott, A.J. (2014) “Beyond the creative city: cognitive–cultural capitalism and the new urbanism”, Regional Studies, 48 (4), pp. 565-578.
Silva, J. (2014) “Património, reputação e criação de valor. Um fundo imobiliário no Príncipe Real”, rossio - estudos de lisboa, nº 4, Dezembro 2014, pp. 118-129.
Springate, M. E. (ed.) (2016) LGBTQ America: A Theme Study of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer History, Washington, DC: National Park Foundation.
Vieira, P. J. (2010), “Do ‘bairro’ e para além do ‘bairro’: Heterotopias e Constelações Lésbicas e Gays em Espaço Urbano”, in Actas do Seminário Geografias de Inclusão: desafios e oportunidades, 13 Dezembro 2010, Lisboa: Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas, Universidade Nova de Lisboa.
Vieira, P. J. (2011) “Cidades torcidas: uma abordagem conceptual sobre (homo)sexualidades e espaço urbano”, in XII Simpósio Nacional de Geografia Urbana Ciência e Utopia: Por uma Geografia do Possível (CD ROM), Belo Horizonte.
Zukin, S. (1995) The Cultures of Cities, Cambridge, MA: Blackwell.
Aldrich, R. (2004) “Homosexuality and the City: An Historical Overview”, Urban Studies, vol. 41 (9), pp. 1719-1737
Becker, H. S. (1963 (2009)) Outsiders: Estudos de sociologia do desvio, Rio de Janeiro, Zahar (trad. ed. 1991).
Bell, D., Binnie, J. (2004) “Autenticating queer space: citizenship, urbanism and governance”, Urban Studies, vol. 41 (9), pp. 1807-1820.
Bell, D., Jayne, M. (eds) (2004), City of Quarters: Urban Villages in the Contemporary City, Aldershot: Ashgate.
Bell, D., Valentine, G. (eds) (1995) Mapping Desire, geographies of sexualities, London: Routledge.
Binnie, J. (1995) “Trading Places: Consumption, Sexuality and the Production of Queer Space”, in D. Bell, G. Valentine (eds) Mapping Desire, geographies of sexualities, London: Routledge, pp. 182-199
Binnie, J. (2004) “Quartering Sexualities: Gay Villages and Sexual Citizenship”, in D. Bell, M. Jayne (eds), City of Quarters: Urban Villages in the Contemporary City, Aldershot: Ashgate, pp. 163-172.
Binnie, J., Valentine, G. (1999) “Geographies of Sexuality – a Review of Progress.”, Progress in Human Geography, 23 (2) (June 1): 175-187.
Boyd, N. A. (2011) “San Francisco's Castro district: from gay liberation to tourist destination”, Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change, 9:3, pp. 237-248.
Brown, M.; Knopp, L. (2004), “Queer Cultural Geographies – We’re Here! We’re Queer! We’re Over There, Too”, in K. Andersen, M. Domosh, S. Pile, N. Thrift (eds), Handbook of Cultural Geography, London: Sage, pp. 313-324.
Camagni, R., Maillat, D., Matteacciolli, A. (eds) (2004), Ressources naturelles et culturelles, milieux et développement local, Neuchatel: EDES.
Castells, M. (1983) The city and the grassroots, Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Castells, M., Murphy, K. (1982) “Cultural identity and urban structure: the spatial organisation of San Francisco’s gay community”, in N. Feinstein, S. Feinstein (eds.) Urban Policy under Capitalism, Beverly Hills, CA: Sage, pp. 237-259.
Caves, R. (2002) Creative Industries: Contracts between Art and Commerce, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Chisholm, D. (2005) Queer Constellations – Subcultural Space in the Wake of the City, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Collins, A. (Ed.) (2006) Cities of Pleasure: Sex and the Urban Socialscape, London and New York: Routledge.
Cooke, P., Lazzeretti, L. (eds.) (2008) Creative Cities, Cultural Clusters and Local Development, Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, MA, USA: Edward Elgar Publishing.
Gato, M. A. (2015) “O consumo de espaços residenciais para além dos valores económicos”, Sociologia, Revista da Faculdade de Letras da Universidade do Porto, Número temático – Práticas de consumo: valores e orientações, 2015, pp. 67-92.
Gieseking, J. J. (2013) “Queering the Meaning of ‘Neighbourhood’: Reinterpreting the Lesbian-Queer Experience of Park Slope, Brooklyn, 1983–2008.”, in M. Addison, Y. Taylor (eds.) Queer Presences and Absences, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 178-200.
Gieseking, J. J. (2016) “LGBTQ Spaces and Places”, in M. E. Springate (ed.) LGBTQ America: A Theme Study of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer History, Washington, DC: National Park Foundation, pp. 14-31.
Giraud, C. (2014) Quartiers gays, Paris: Presses Universitaires de France.
Hall, P. (1998) Cities in Civilization, London: Pantheon.
Hanhardt, C. B. (2013) Safe Space: Gay Neighbourhood History and the Politics of Violence, Durham and London: Duke University Press.
Hanhardt, C. B. (2016) “Making Community: The Places and Spaces of LGBTQ Collective Identity Formation”, in M. E. Springate (ed.) LGBTQ America: A Theme Study of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer History, Washington, DC: National Park Foundation, pp. 15-30.
Kebir, L., Crevoisier, O., Costa. P., Peyrache-Gadeau, V. (eds) (2017) Sustainable Innovation and Regional Development: Rethinking Innovative Milieus, Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, MA, USA: Edward Elgar Publishing.
Knopp, L. (1995) “Sexuality and Urban Space: A Framework for Analysis” in D. Bell, G. Valentine (eds.) Mapping Desire, geographies of sexualities, London: Routledge, pp. 149-161.
Knopp, L. (1997) “Gentrification and Gay Neighbourhood Formation in New Orleans: A Case Study.”, in A. Gluckman, A., B. Reed (eds.) Homo Economics: Capitalism, Community, and Lesbian and Gay Life, New York: Routledge, pp 45-64.
Landry, C. (2000) The Creative City: A Toolkit for Urban Innovators, London: Comedia/Earthscan.
Lau, L., Arsanios, M., Zúñiga-González, F., Kryger, M. (eds.) (2014) Queer Geographies, Roskilde: Museet for Samtidskunst.
Lauria, M., Knopp, L. (1985) “Towards an Analysis of the Role of Gay Community in the Urban Renaissance”, Urban Geography, 6 (2), pp. 152-169.
Lazzeretti, L. (2013) (ed.) Creative industries and innovation in Europe: Concepts, measures and comparatives case studies, London and New York: Routledge.
Lees, L. (ed.) (2004) The emancipatory city? : Paradoxes and possibilities, London – Thousand Oaks – New Delhi: Sage.
Leroy, S. (2005) “Le Paris gay. Éléments pour un geographie de l’‘homoseuxalité’, Annales de Geographie, nº 646, pp.579-601.
Lizama, P. A. (2014) “Existe-t-il un quartier gay à Santiago du Chili ? Appropriation et distanciation d’un modèle urbain importé”, Annales de Géographie, n° 699, 2014/5, pp. 1123-1145.
Lugosi, P. (2007) “Queer consumption and commercial hospitality: Communitas, myths, and the production of liminoid space”, International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 27(3/4): 163-174.
Markusen, A. (2006), “Urban development and the politics of a creative class: Evidence from the study of artists”, Environment and Planning A, 38:10, pp. 1921-1940.
Markusen, A. (2007) “The urban core as cultural sticky place”, in D. Henckel, E. Pahl-Weber and B. Herkommer (eds.), Time Space Places, Berlin: Peter Lang Verlag, pp. 173-87.
Meneses, I. (2000) “Intimidade, norma e diferença: a modernidade gay em Lisboa”, Análise Social, vol. 34, n.º153, pp.933-955.
O’Connor, J., Wynne, D. (eds.) (1996) From the Margins to the Centre: Cultural Production and Consumption in the Post-industrial City, Aldershot: Arena.
Pilkey, B. S. (2013) “Queering Heteronormativity at Home in London“, A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, London: The Bartlett School of Architecture - University College London.
Pratt, A., Hutton, T. (2013) “Reconceptualising the relationship between the creative economy and the city: learning from the financial crisis”, Cities, 33, 86-95.
Robbins, J. (2011) Crossing through Chueca: Lesbian Literary Culture in Queer Madrid, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Ruiz, P. (2012) “Urbanism and Gay Identity “, New Visions for Public Affairs, Volume 4, Spring 2012, pp. 1-15.
Salinas, V. F. (2007) “Visibilidad y escena gay masculina en la ciudad española”, Documents D'analisi Geografica, 49, pp. 139-160.
Scott, A.J. (2000) The Cultural Economy of Cities, New Delhi, London and Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Scott, A.J. (2014) “Beyond the creative city: cognitive–cultural capitalism and the new urbanism”, Regional Studies, 48 (4), pp. 565-578.
Silva, J. (2014) “Património, reputação e criação de valor. Um fundo imobiliário no Príncipe Real”, rossio - estudos de lisboa, nº 4, Dezembro 2014, pp. 118-129.
Springate, M. E. (ed.) (2016) LGBTQ America: A Theme Study of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer History, Washington, DC: National Park Foundation.
Vieira, P. J. (2010), “Do ‘bairro’ e para além do ‘bairro’: Heterotopias e Constelações Lésbicas e Gays em Espaço Urbano”, in Actas do Seminário Geografias de Inclusão: desafios e oportunidades, 13 Dezembro 2010, Lisboa: Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas, Universidade Nova de Lisboa.
Vieira, P. J. (2011) “Cidades torcidas: uma abordagem conceptual sobre (homo)sexualidades e espaço urbano”, in XII Simpósio Nacional de Geografia Urbana Ciência e Utopia: Por uma Geografia do Possível (CD ROM), Belo Horizonte.
Zukin, S. (1995) The Cultures of Cities, Cambridge, MA: Blackwell.
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