ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book examines the ways that the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) community has used urban spaces in the Global South, as well as in smaller communities in the United States that never developed traditional gay neighborhoods. It provides alternative perspectives about the usefulness of the gay village as an organizing framework. Gustav Visser suggests that the gay village as the archetype of queer space does not fit the South African context. Sarah Nusser and Katrin Anacker consider how pervasive heterosexism shapes the way that queer-identified people experience commercial spaces in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Petra Doan illustrates the ways that homophobia still constrains LGBTQ residential choices in the deep south, arguing that planning support is needed for the kinds of progressive neighborhoods that provide a quiet welcome for the LGBTQ community.
