Public space researchers have created a body of literature describing how women feel in and access public spaces and have briefly explored men and race in public space, but have not explored other identities adequately including sexuality. Geographical queer theory provides a foundation for public space research, but literature is limited to the creation of and contest over space. The goal of this research is to explore LGBT feelings in public spaces in St. Louis, MO. There are three components including a survey, interviews, and hand mapping of emotional associations within the city. Overall, feelings in public space were found to be dependent on an individual's life experiences but several other important themes emerged, such as LGBT spaces as comfortable; the city, parks and familiar spaces as safe; bars as important spaces; behavior modification in unsafe situations; the importance of alcohol to safety; \"hick\" areas as dangerous; race as a separating factor; and upscale areas as uncomfortable. This research informs public space and queer theory literatures, while also developing hand mapping techniques.
","abstract_html":"<p>Public space researchers have created a body of literature describing how women feel in and access public spaces and have briefly explored men and race in public space, but have not explored other identities adequately including sexuality. Geographical queer theory provides a foundation for public space research, but literature is limited to the creation of and contest over space. The goal of this research is to explore LGBT feelings in public spaces in St. Louis, MO. There are three components including a survey, interviews, and hand mapping of emotional associations within the city. Overall, feelings in public space were found to be dependent on an individual's life experiences but several other important themes emerged, such as LGBT spaces as comfortable; the city, parks and familiar spaces as safe; bars as important spaces; behavior modification in unsafe situations; the importance of alcohol to safety; "hick" areas as dangerous; race as a separating factor; and upscale areas as uncomfortable. This research informs public space and queer theory literatures, while also developing hand mapping techniques.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Sanschagrin, Emily L."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"M.A.","degree_level":"Masters Thesis","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Eric Boschmann, Ph.D.","Rebecca Powell","Geoffrey Bateman"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2011,"date_issued":"2011-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2011-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:02:38Z","subjects":["LGBT","Community","Public space","Qualitative geographic information system","Geography","Human Geography"],"languages":["en"],"rights":["Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/573","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Eric Boschmann, Ph.D.","Rebecca Powell","Geoffrey Bateman"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Sanschagrin, Emily L."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2001-01-01T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Masters Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.A."]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["LGBT","Community","Public space","Qualitative geographic information system","Geography","Human Geography"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
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"]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The LGBT Community and Public Space: A Mixed Methods Approach"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Eric Boschmann, Ph.D.","Rebecca Powell","Geoffrey Bateman"],"dc:creator":["Sanschagrin, Emily L."],"dc:date.available":["2001-01-01T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Public space researchers have created a body of literature describing how women feel in and access public spaces and have briefly explored men and race in public space, but have not explored other identities adequately including sexuality. Geographical queer theory provides a foundation for public space research, but literature is limited to the creation of and contest over space. The goal of this research is to explore LGBT feelings in public spaces in St. Louis, MO. There are three components including a survey, interviews, and hand mapping of emotional associations within the city. Overall, feelings in public space were found to be dependent on an individual's life experiences but several other important themes emerged, such as LGBT spaces as comfortable; the city, parks and familiar spaces as safe; bars as important spaces; behavior modification in unsafe situations; the importance of alcohol to safety; \"hick\" areas as dangerous; race as a separating factor; and upscale areas as uncomfortable. This research informs public space and queer theory literatures, while also developing hand mapping techniques.
"],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/573"],"dc:language":["en"],"dc:rights":["Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
"],"dc:subject":["LGBT","Community","Public space","Qualitative geographic information system","Geography","Human Geography"],"dc:title":["The LGBT Community and Public Space: A Mixed Methods Approach"],"thesis:degree_level":["Masters Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["M.A."]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:02:38Z"}