The Escalating Demise Of Gayborhoods
Written by Joseph • January 26, 2016
Personal assistant Brenden Michaels is wondering if his days in Brooklyn are numbered. He still clings to a cheap rental flat in uber-gentrified Williamsburg, but has seen his neighbourhood’s prices skyrocket. He now laughingly suspects even the improvements he’s made to his own home may eventually come back to bite him. “I’ve repainted everything, put […]
Personal assistant Brenden Michaels is wondering if his days in Brooklyn are numbered. He still clings to a cheap rental flat in uber-gentrified Williamsburg, but has seen his neighbourhood’s prices skyrocket. He now laughingly suspects even the improvements he’s made to his own home may eventually come back to bite him.
“I’ve repainted everything, put plants on the fire escape and done a lot of maintenance. If I leave this apartment it will be in a far better state than when I arrived. And by that very simple step, I have almost gentrified myself out of my own building.”
In many ways, the 29-year-old’s experience is typical of a host of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender city-dwellers. Seeking both an accepting community and affordable rent, they have often flocked together in cheaper areas of inner cities, such as gay-friendly Williamsburg. Their very presence in these areas, however, has allegedly transformed them, accelerating gentrification – and in turn pricing them out.
This LGBT long march through the inner cities is not about housing alone, of course. There is often a corresponding wave among businesses. LGBT bars and clubs have been said to have had a catalytic effect in encouraging a wealthier public back to areas such as London’s Soho or New York’s East Village.
Many western cities have nonetheless been faced recently with an epidemic of LGBT business closures. In London, more than 10 have pulled down their shutters permanently since 2010. This is a phenomenon that has also struck straight pubs and clubs, of course; it’s just that, unlike gay venues, they don’t yet risk becoming an endangered species.
Not all reasons for these closures are entirely bad. LGBT people (or at least those who don’t stand out) can now drink in straight venues with less risk of harassment, while the internet means they no longer need to cluster physically to meet. Nonetheless, displacements and closures are sending a ripple of disquiet through non-straight communities. People are starting to wonder: is gentrification destined to make so-called gay villages a thing of the past?
Have you found the right one, or are you still searching?
Join a gay dating site where you can meet single guys from any town or city. Rely instead on Gay Dating Solutions to do the work for you!
Don’t get fooled by FREE offers made by other sites. Gay Dating Solutions is offering a free 6 month promotion ABSOLUTELY no strings, request for credit card numbers, etc…it is the only site that is truly free to join!
Sign-up now: www.gaydatingsolutions.com
Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/GayDating101
Tweet us: twitter.com/GayDating101
