Why are both public and private interests within cities becoming increasingly supportive of the creation of “gay spaces”? According to public interest, "gay space" is important to support creative and high-tech industries. San Francisco, Washington, and San Diego are all designed as high-tech areas in the United States. According to statistical analysis by economist Edward Glaeser of Harvard University, gay workers do a better job than heterosexual (?) individuals (Gates & Florida, 2002). Therefore, creating diversity and inclusiveness within the population of high-tech industrial areas can help attract creativity and talent in a large labor pool. For private interests, gay space is perceived as a safer space than, for example, Vancouver's Granville Strip. . On the heteronormative Granville Strip, women experience more sexual harassment and aggressively heterosexual behavior from hyper-masculine men. The gay space within clubhouses on Vancouver's Eastside is safer for straight women, lesbians and queer individuals seeking less or non-heteronormative culture outside of the Granville Strip. Dancing on Vancouver's Eastside is preferable for young people because the space is less crowded and more diverse. One woman interviewed in one study noted, “I think there's probably more of a transgender type of sexuality in the indie scene than in the mainstream scenes” (Boyd, 2008, p. 77). Independent events are more open and tolerant of different expressions of sexuality. Therefore, the diversity of sexual performance at independent events is supported by private interests due to the reputation of such events as safer and less heteronormative spaces. How are heteronormative spaces created within cities like Vancouver? ......events are more dichotomous in terms of gender, as most venues are still dominated by gays and lesbians. Creating a queer-friendly space is important for most women who feel that public space is dominated by men. The transgender community is also affected by male violence. In order to protect female and gender variant people, the first step is to create a harmonious space that welcomes all gender positions, including transgender, gender variant, gay, lesbian and queer. Creating an online community or chat room can be a helpful way to assimilate those marginalized gender positions so they can communicate openly, sharing their personal experiences and stories. Works cited by Gary Gates, Richard Florida. (2002), Technology and Tolerance: Diversity and High Technological Growth. Retrieved April 8 from: http://www.brookings.edu/research/articles/2002/12/winter-technology-florida