ABSTRACT
Given that towns and cities are essentially spatial concentrations of large numbers of people, then it is this very population density that serves as a defining characteristic. Such high densities mean that a more diverse range of people may be found within these urban locations than beyond their margins. If people with particular personal preferences are looking for other people with particular characteristics then the very presence of such diversity is likely to help the search and matching process to take place more efficiently. Clearly, large towns and cities are also characterised by higher-order services than smaller settlements. Among these higher-order services will tend to feature a larger and more diverse range of leisure opportunities, the pursuit of which is often combined with mating opportunities and rituals. Consider the large packs of men and women who roam, in circuit drinking mode, the huge number of pubs and bars of Newcastle, England (and of course many other towns and cities around the world). They are not only engaged in socialising and drinking, but are also instinctively aware that opportunities for sexual contact can be acquired through this route (albeit with an uncertain probability of success on any given occasion). Further, the actual pursuit (or thrill of the chase) can also offer considerable enjoyment to many individuals. Cities are thus places that offer spaces containing an extensive range and number of pleasure-based outlets and these often have considerable sexual dimensions. These may be characterised by no actual physical contact, but merely comprise the sexual frisson from the physical proximity of potential partners or various sexual goods, services and spaces. They may also offer, of course, the real prospect or means to achieve actual sexual contact. Sexual desires can thus be viewed as important behavioural drivers that may push people to look frequently to urban locations for expending their pleasure time. Potentially, they may also tip the decisions of some determined seekers of sexual contact, such that they actually choose to reside in a large town or city, thus enabling them to make even more effective use of the greater sexual opportunities such locations present.
