Queer Transit Accessibility

    Sociological Ethnographic Study 

Abstract

      Toronto, Canada, is one of Canada’s most significant metropolitan areas that borders the United States of America. Toronto has many advantages that many large cities in their border nation (United States) do not have—including a robust public transportation system. One benefit of this transportation infrastructure is that moving around the city and taking advantage of its amenities is more accessible to people across socio-economic strata. The rise of a new term called “third spaces” refers to social or communal spaces for people to come together besides going home or to work.  I will be citing Ray Oldenburg developed the theory of third spaces in his book The Great Good Place as a reference point. While there is new interest in this idea as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, third spaces have always been critical for marginalized groups, including queer people and people of color. This ethnographic study examines how citizens of Toronto, Canada utilize “third spaces” with a particular focus on queer communities of color and accessibility of public transportation.

Topics: Third Spaces, Transportation Accessibility, Queer Communities of Color

Introduction 

      Toronto, Canada, is one of Canada’s most significant metropolitan areas that borders the United States of America. Toronto has many advantages that many large cities in their border nation (United States) do not have—including a robust public transportation system. One benefit of this transportation infrastructure is that moving around the city and taking advantage of its amenities is more accessible to people across socio-economic strata. Relatedly, the apparent accessibility of amenities means that people from marginalized groups, including queer people and people of color, maybe more integrated into the central city.

      The rise of a new term called “third spaces” refers to social or communal spaces for people to come together besides going home or to work. Ray Oldenburg’s theory of third spaces in his book The Great Good Place is a reference point. Also, many different authors who cited focus on queer spaces, racial identity, transit accessibility, and other intersectionality in urban planning. While there is new interest in this idea as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, third spaces have always been critical for marginalized groups, including queer people and people of color. This ethnographic study examines how citizens of Toronto, Canada utilize “third spaces” with a particular focus on queer communities of color and accessibility of public transportation. 

Methods

       In this ethnographic study, I have selected three main neighborhoods: one low-income, one middle-income, and one high-income. I selected the low-income neighborhood Moss Park, the middle-class neighborhood University of Toronto; furthermore, and the middle-high-income neighborhood Gay Village. I chose these neighborhoods because they border each other and because in my preliminary research, I learned these neighborhoods had historic cultural significance. For example, all of the neighborhoods of Moss Park, the University of Toronto, and The Gay Village (Queer district) are in or border near a queer district, downtown Toronto, and the University of Toronto.

      Within each neighborhood,  I have selected three main “third spaces” to conduct ethnographic observation: Glad Day Bookshop, at the University of Toronto, and Moss Park. I selected these sites because Glad Day Bookshop is one of the oldest queer bookshops standing in Toronto, and the bookshop is in a famous queer district in Toronto Canada. Also, the queer district borders several low-income neighborhoods and the University of Toronto. The University of Toronto is another third space to observe because the institution hosts weekly events for people in the city of Toronto. Furthermore, their quad is well-known for attracting people to the downtown location. Also, the University of Toronto borders both low-income and high-income neighborhoods: the institution is in the middle of both neighborhoods to observe the intersection (interaction). 

      Moss Park is a neighborhood and a park as well; the park is located in the center of the low-income neighborhood. According to many articles, and Canadian Census Data Moss Park is the lowest-income neighborhood in the downtown district out of the 15 districts in downtown Toronto. The cultural significance of Moss Park is that this neighborhood is an intersection of all income neighborhoods (low, middle, and high-income neighborhoods) and a majority of tourist attractions. I examined each neighborhood in the mornings approximately (10 am-12 pm) and evenings approximately. (3 pm-5 pm) twice each day. As part of my observation, I will walk around the neighborhood near the selected places that I chose to examine in the ethnographic study. The ethnographic study used public transit and walking to reach multiple destinations. The public transit offered in Toronto includes streetcars, metro, trams, and bikes. In the designated neighborhood, I selected an area and sat and observed the surroundings as well as observing interactions I encountered.  After 2 hours in each designated third place in a total of exploring walking into a designated neighborhood and surrounding neighborhoods 2 hours. In total, each designated neighborhood is estimated at 12 hours and 30 minutes I observed and total transit observations to designated neighborhoods are estimated at 2 hours and 35 minutes (accounting for transit to destination and back). 

        The three different third spaces are in different neighborhoods with various socio-economic levels because I was interested in how SES (socioeconomic status) might affect the accessibility of these sites. Transportation infrastructure is often more extensive in higher-income areas. I suspected that the third space in Moss Park might be more easily accessible by public transportation. I suspect that Gay Village will have a higher accessibility mode of transportation or easier access to more resources due to being a wealthier neighborhood and borders other wealthier neighborhoods. The higher income has more voice and community influence towards the Canadian urban planner and Canadian transit authority. Also, the question of the Canadian transportation system and does the transit accommodates the disabled community regarding access to basic needs. In this ethnographic study accessibility in transportation infrastructure because accessibility includes different variables to what makes a perfect city. Furthermore, financial resources are being reallocated to certain neighborhoods and shape how people commute around a city.

      Moreover, in this ethnographic study, I observe the accessibility of the modes of transportation such as the metros, buses, trams, and trains. I rode the metro and the majority of streetcars as transit to get to those third spaces and take notes as I arrived at each third space destination such as the bookshop, parks, and university quad. In doing so, I discover patterns of accessibility to different destinations that serve queer, minorities, and other individuals in third spaces.  In addition, I observed how long it takes to get to the destination points, crowded transit spots, and the types of people in transit. I observed patterns in public transit and observed interaction with people, events, protests, potentially crowded transit stations or places, and myself interacting with people. Regarding Toronto being a metropolitan area I observed the neighborhoods offered for people who are visiting. Other observations of public transit are metros, buses, or people accommodating the disabled/elderly people on the transit system. Also, I note that do people follow the rules of the transit or pay their fare? Is the transit fare costly for the average Canadian citizen?

Findings 

The Gay Village

   Gay Village is Toronto’s queer district where many LGBT+ individuals gather and communities are built in that area. The neighborhood is lively with rainbow flags on stores, crosswalks, and residential buildings. Many public third places within the Gay Village such as Glad Day Bookshop, Woody’s (a gay bar & drag performance place), Bathrooms/spas, and lounges outside of stores for people to chat any time of the day. Glad Day Bookshop is the first queer space developed in the Gay Village district. Two blocks down from the Bookshop there is a park area and across the street is a resource center for LGBT+ individuals. The Gay Village is a thriving neighborhood with many pedestrians and interactive facilities for many people in Toronto. However, Ghazani explained that gayborhoods exclude different archetypes of people in communities and spaces that shift meaning for different audiences. The exclusionary practices are racial discrimination, strict binaries, more digital spaces, and catering toward tolerant tourism. The themes found in this ethnographic study are community building, transit, urban spatial awareness, and the unexpected theme of homelessness.

  Gay Village narrative in Toronto creates a safe space for LGBT+ individuals and LGBT+ tourists as well, and the community area has many urban third places for individuals of all ages. For example, the Glad Day Bookshop is an open bookstore bar and lounge for everyone till three in the morning. Also, there are several parks for people to lounge around and rooms to sit in without buying anything. Surrounding neighborhoods near the Gay Village has plenty of multicultural restaurants, townhouses, duplex houses, and traditional houses. Also, the neighborhood did have many resource centers for any LGBT+ member to seek help. The Gay Village had cruising spots for cisgender gay men to participate in sexual activities and visible sex shops as well for consumers. Many gay stores were built to conceal homosexual activities during the AIDS/HIV crisis. The neighborhood is sex-positive, with many sex shops and a welcoming atmosphere for the LGBT+ community. At least two resource centers are on each end of the Gay Village to aid in crisis or non-emergency. Many LGBT+ flags around the neighborhoods and positivity signs everywhere in support of LGBT+ rights.

    However, a pattern I noticed with queer space in the Gay Village is a lack of racial diversity in the queer district. In the Glad Day Bookshop or lounges in the Gay Village would be a majority white population and many BIPOC queer or BIPOC would stay near the University of Toronto. Many BIPOC people tend to live in the surrounding neighborhoods of Gay Village when I walked through different neighborhoods and many assumably white individuals or non-Canadians reside in the queer district. A pattern was that many people would speak French, German, and many European languages or wear different accessories for a European country. 

  An elderly white queer man late 40s and early 50s I encountered in the gay Village. He discussed his experience as a queer man and being a native of Toronto. He describes the queer spaces were multicultural and the BIPOC resided in smaller townhouses in the queer district and switched due to gentrification BIPOC queer men reside on the edge of the gay district. The townhouses are now redeveloped mini-apartments and many people are non-Canadian. Since 2018, gentrification rapidly began in the queer community and the queer people moved out into other parts of the city mainly to Dovercourt Village and Yorkville. He switched to the nightlife drastically in the mid-2010s with older queer people wanting to go out and the stigma of older queer people going out took a toll on the younger generation. This connects to Rushbroo's argument of gayborhoods' exclusion tendencies to other minorities in social spaces. The Gay Village tourism is tolerant of non-LGBT+ individuals to create a dynamic that excludes members from a community. The outcast members are forced to create a new community and designated neighborhoods create a facade of acceptance. 

     On the other hand, there are many transit points to reach the Gay Village, such as train line 1 and four streetcar lines to access Gay Village. There are over 4+ streetcar stops within the Gay Village neighborhood and two metro stops in the Gay Village. The accessibility of public transportation makes it very easy for individuals to manage to travel to their destination. The Gay Village covers two metro stops and is the most popular metro stop in the Toronto Region. A 50-year-old white queer man I referred to earlier discussed his experience living in Toronto. He runs a mid-size company connecting corporations with more DEI developers' work and is a spokesman for considering more ADEI as well.

          He was born and raised in many areas of metropolitan Toronto but mainly near downtown. He discusses his parents and his experience of the subway stations being built in the late 50s/60s but not efficient till the late 70s and early 80s. The metro system only went north and south (number 2 line) in the 1950s/'60s. Later the metro system went east and west till the late '60s and early '70s and he explained the metro expansion covered the downtown area and not the suburban areas until three years later. He expressed that the streetcars were the most efficient way to get around the city and were affordable for people. However, the Metro system failed to expand into different areas due to the financial and population density increasing rapidly. Streetcars will run all night long in the late 90s mid 200s but the time restrictions began soon after. Transit accessibility is important for this ethnographic study to illustrate North American public transit is obtainable and third place can exist outside of Europe. Public transit allows people to community build or efficiently reach large land masses. 

He empathized with an important detail of the discussion of queer spaces, cruising spots, and other activities in the third space around Toronto. Gay Village (formerly known as church and Wesley Village) was a massive community for the LGBT+ community and stretched more than 10 streets down on church street and 9 streets wide on Wesley Street in the 80s and 90s. During the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the community had a lot of cursing spots to hide from the public and board up stores. Later, cruising spots happened on late-night streetcars, bathhouses, and dark alleys on designated “straight clubs; however, some cursing spots were meant to meet up with other LGBT+ members. Ballroom culture was prominent after the HIV/AIDS crisis. This connects to community building in communities of need; moreover, urban spaces develop meaning as history progresses. 

      The Gay Village had significantly less homelessness than Moss Park and the University of Toronto. One homeless man was in the Gay Village; individuals did not scold the man and directed him to a shelter nearby. The area was cleaner than other areas around Toronto and had less graffiti. A group of homeless gathered at the park, and many individuals chatted with them or walked past. 

Moss Park

   Moss Park resides in the Garden District of Toronto and the neighborhood is approximately a 20-minute walk from central downtown Toronto, many people use Moss Park’s facilities to improve third places in Toronto. Moss Park had many public urban places for individuals to partake in activities any time of day. The park had a recreational center for youth events, but most were for adults aged 21 to mid-30s. The outside of the recreational center was a playground for children and a pathway for people to walk dogs, run, and do many other outdoor activities if weather permits. Also, Moss Park has a baseball field, tennis court, and basketball court for public use. The surrounding Moss Park has many lounges, plant stores, multicultural restaurants, and nearby central downtown Toronto.

The access point to reach Moss Park is a main crossroad and very busy (Dundas Street); however, there are many streetcar stops to reach Moss Park, but it is very accessible. The designated streetcars had a feature to let off disabled individuals. When the streetcar tram stopped working, the streetcar operators and civilians would help the disabled community individuals in need. Transportation etiquette people followed mainly transportation rules such as giving seats, wearing masks, and waiting for a stop at designated signs. Transportation rules individuals did not pay transit fares; even enforce fare rules on streetcars. Randomly, a transit officer checks their MetroCard. The transportation is more reliable with streetcars than the metro system. The metro system at that stop is to expand to the greater Toronto region. Compared to the busiest street and time on route Moss Park has the longest commute time out of the University of Toronto and Gay Village. Despite the close location to Downtown Toronto the commute and pathway are more accessible than the other two locations I chose. A pattern I notice is the closer someone is towards Downtown the more accessible the transit points are but longer estimated commute times.  

       Many people would go to Moss Park's north side because the south end of the park is under construction. Moss Park is under construction on the other end of the park project to create several bike paths, a new recreational center, a train station, and other amenities for individuals living there. However, Moss Park had a significant number of homeless people in the Moss Park area and surrounding areas of neighborhoods. The homeless individuals cover the south end of a park near the recreational center at certain times of the day, usually around the evenings. The needle box is near the center, and many use needles around the south end of the park but volunteer to clean up the needles.

        The shelter is nearby for homelessness, to be housed for the cold winter and fall months to push homeless reform in Toronto. In many cases, homeless individuals are not violent and would ask for drugs instead of money in Moss Park than other areas in Toronto. As a result of shelters and reforming new third places, homeless individuals might be at risk of being displaced to other areas. This connects to Michael Smith's argument of post-modernism of spatial awareness and analysis in urban development in neighborhoods. Ethnography is a choice to describe a place in-depth through a sociological lens to demonstrate a point of reality of neighborhoods. Urban planning uses ethnography to convey the damages of urban development in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods. Compared to other neighborhoods Moss Park was the hardest to reach due to its location near downtown. The popular tourist destination is on route to Moss Park and third places are visible but not as present as the University of Toronto and Gay Village.

  The neighborhoods have many historical architectural buildings and newly built condos. The newly built condos may indicate a sign of gentrification in the Garden District (Moss Park). The greenery of the neighborhood attracts many tourists to explore the neighborhood, as well as many thrift stores and marijuana stores that attract a younger crowd of people. Compared to the Gay Village and the University of Toronto homelessness is significantly more present than any other areas I examine. The majority of the area is racially diverse and nearby social third space hubs for individuals to socialize. On another note, gentrification is more prominent than in Gay Village and the University of Toronto the many high-rise buildings near older townhouses in the area. Third spaces are important for usage for everyone and stress the importance of community building. In the case of Moss Park, the inclusivity of the area has racial diversity, transit, and geolocation; however, the Moss Park neighborhoods lack a strong presence of community budding and corrective urban development. 

The University of Toronto

   The University of Toronto is the social hub in Toronto, and the campus is on the busiest street (College Street) and runs the main roads in Toronto. A combination of third place is all over the campus for private students and public use as a part of society. An example of a third place is Tim Hortons, a local Canadian lounge restaurant, and many local restaurants for people to find community. Posters around campus for students and individuals outside the university to meet for political interest, financial help, social events, and promote music venues. The University of Toronto covers many neighborhoods like Kensington Market, Little Italy, and many multicultural communities. Many communities would host market days on certain days and host food banks for everyone within communities.

   Multicultural neighborhoods create unity within communities to improve community engagement; moreover, having multicultural neighborhoods constructs Toronto as a unique culture of Canadian society. The University of Toronto cultivates diversity on-campus and off-campus to foster urban third places. The surrounding neighborhoods have college students, locals, and a variety of individuals living near the University of Toronto to develop unique neighborhoods and add accessibility to resources for different ethnic groups. The University of Toronto has many public buildings like hospitals, health facilities, and recreational centers.

     The University of Toronto is a center hub of transit ports and stops with metro lines 1 and 2 intersecting on two main streets. Many streetcar lines take through downtown Toronto, airports, and suburban areas in Toronto. Many students, working class, tourists, and locals pass through the college because of the proximity to many transfer lines. The accessibility heightened with transportation commutes to individual destinations.

   Homeless individuals are in the surrounding areas of the University of Toronto in certain neighborhoods other than parks, construction sites, and abandoned places. The food banks are in many neighborhoods like Kensington Market and Old Toronto because of the resources. The homeless individuals are six blocks away from the University of Toronto main campus site and nearby major streets in Toronto. Homelessness is very visible and many of the makeup of the population is an assembly of white men who speak French and English. The number of BIPOC homeless individuals was less than that of white homeless individuals. The main encounter of BIPOC homeless was in Moss Park than in other areas. The treatment of the homeless was worse in other areas than Moss Park.

  In comparison to Gay Village and Moss Park; the University of Toronto can integrate many community buildings and craters to many individuals' necessities. Many social flyers everyone to engage with the community and food banks for homeless individuals. The public transit accessibility is more efficient than Moss Park and Gay Village. Near the University of Toronto is Market Days for everyone to partake and nearby neighborhoods have similar open market days. BIPOC, Queerness, and social activities are more significantly visible than the other two neighborhoods.

Toronto Urban Space interaction:

    Toronto is a very multicultural city and the multicultural solidarity presence has been strong since the Israel and Palestine protests took place in Toronto. Many different racial backgrounds in support of Palestine shut down the majority of Downtown Toronto. The subject of minority solidarity is the  Kensington Market Days is the biggest open market in Toronto for many local and outside companies to sell their merchandise inside a neighborhood. Many private places are open to the public at certain hours, auditoriums, academic buildings for public talks, and many access to third places. 

      In contrast, the Gay Village population is a millennial-dominant group, and other older generations partake in community engagement; however, Generation Z spent time in other areas in the city of Toronto based on many sex workers' experiences. A middle-aged white queer man I encountered who was born outside of Toronto, nearly ten minutes away, runs a midsize company regarding advertising to corporations. He has lived in Toronto for over 9 years and lived in many different areas. Mainly engaged in the nightlife of Toronto spoke about the clubs and bars for queer people evolved all over town not just in the gay district. Many clubs have been shut down due to the cost of living and gentrification of the popular clubs that queer people go to. The drag scene/ballroom culture has a strong presence there as well; with weekly drag shows and performers. Since gentrification queer spaces evolved a lot of clubs, bars, restaurants, and many spaces to be queer-friendly. In the early 2010s, the queer space was a strong community building with a welcoming vibe for all queer of all ages. Many centers for people who were outed or drug abused as well there are only a handful left in the queer district.

The overview of the notion of queer spaces is to create a safe place for marginalized individuals; however, a safe place potentially be exclusive due to ethnicity, erotic capital, white supremacy, and many more discriminatory actions. The concerns of the digital spaces reduce third spaces with the usage of Grindr and reproduce harmful erotic queer capital. Rushbroo and Ghaziani emphasized the importance of the sociological lens of community building to create a successful metropolitan area. Transit accessibility is essential in urban planning because it allows access to areas with more resources. The racial diversity and queer culture produce third places which allows for a better quality of life. Gay Village in Toronto, Canada, is the designated “queer neighborhood” due to the overrepresentation of the pride flags and visible queer art to welcome the LGBT+ community. The findings show many BIPOC gay individuals tend to live on the outskirts of the Gay Village due to gentrification and a racially white-dominated space. A sex BIPOC worker approached me to tell me about many BIPOC gay individuals who found community buildings mainly near north Toronto or the University of Toronto area. On the other hand, many BIPOC gays participate in activities in the Gay Village.

Positionality (Personal impact)

      As a fourth-year undergraduate student at Colorado College from the United States I will have implicit biases and acknowledge limitations of ethnographic research. I felt very off-place in most countries outside of the U.S. A lot of stares and looks assembled my outfit and hair as a person of color. I am an Afro-Latino queer man from the United States with certain cultures or knowledge about Canadian history with indigenous, Asian, or other ethnic group experiences. I felt the majority safe in the area even though more homeless people were surrounding me but did not think that homelessness was a prominent issue or strong presence at Moss Park. The park had a character with graffiti and had a lot of elements of a park's needs. The needle box and needles made me very concerned about the epidemic of the homeless. The walking around Toronto particularly walking through Bellevue Park most days felt alright and some days not much. The people treating the homeless were appalling and disgusting facial expressions/actions.

        On the other hand, I blend in with the college students on the university quad considering I am a college student. I felt a little weird. Many students wore a lanyard or carried a type of lanyard on them around campus to get into the building or on the way to class. Many students would say hello to me or look curious if I knew them on campus. The neighborhood I stayed in was predominantly an East Asian community but very multicultural with a university nearby. The university borders Jewish, Irish/British, Italian, and East Asian neighborhoods. More traditional townhouses and homes were converted into apartments for people to rent. There are not many condos on the western end of the city compared to the eastern part of the city.

        Furthermore, in the Gay Village, I felt very welcomed and not too out of place at the bookshop. The staff that worked there were very helpful with all my questions that I had. There is no judgment on my end or stare on within the bookshop I notice.  The queer community neighborhood was a bit intimidating because the people were looking at my outfits and asking where I was from based on the necklace that I wore. The queer space was a prominent white space and a lot of imposter syndrome when I was navigating the space. As a BIPOC queer man, the experience was not as intense in America but very subtle with unease. The people I encountered were very friendly and gave me a lot of advice or places to check out when I was exploring different places in Toronto: many open sex stores and personal expression of clothes.

     Third spaces exist all over Toronto multipurpose bookshops, free classes to do art, dances, free food banks, multicultural lounges for people to hang out. Transit is partly accessible to people in Toronto due to the metro line shutting down after midnight that extends to past downtown centers. Queer spaces in urban settings adapt to changes such as gentrification but community built in third spaces.

Discussion

      In this study, I aimed to include examines how citizens of Toronto, Canada utilize “third spaces” with a particular focus on queer communities of color and accessibility of public transportation. My findings showed that Toronto uses many third places and efforts to improve transit accessibility throughout the city. An example is the University of Toronto and Kensington Market areas with ethnicity integration, accessible transit stops, and inclusive spaces. However, the patterns of accessible North American metropolitan cities like Toronto failed to be inclusive in queer spaces and accommodate homelessness in certain neighborhoods.

        Toronto is one of the largest metropolitan cities in Canada and has the fastest-growing population of multicultural diversity due to immigration. The metropolitan city has a grid layout to develop transit along Lake Ontario. The grid layout of urban planning is noticed throughout other North American urban areas such as Chicago, New York City, and Washington D.C to develop different cities. Toronto's unique style of social third spaces is because of multipurpose places around the city to engage with other people. For example, the distillery district was once an industrial neighborhood for low-income families and was abandoned for a few years, then transformed into several markets. The markets include restaurants, lounges, year-round outdoor activities, and public warming centers in the winter. The issue addresses the lack of third places in the United States cities and transit accessibility.

      The third place is a new concept developed in urban planning for individuals who want to engage with the community across the city. The concept of third places introduces terms of urban planning, such as walkability, public transit accessibility, and public space usage. Toronto is an example case study examining intersectional urban planning in a North American city like Toronto compared to European cities. The Canadian city has many resources to develop neighborhood areas, and the city has a form of public transit; however, a close examination of neighborhoods in Toronto as a city has a few drawbacks. An issue was homelessness and lack of inclusivity in public or safe spaces. 

Impact for Colorado College

The sociological ethnographic study potentially helps Colorado College network to connect with the greater Colorado Springs Community with nonprofit organizations and advertise the organizations for students/faculty/and staff. I believe Colorado College stepped up with the transition closet, Worner Center, and multicultural lounge for LGBT+ and minority students on campus. However, more connections with colleges within Colorado Springs and the development of specific programs within marginalized groups but not too individualistic. The Table Talk at the Worner Center should include more "real discussion" with students about spaces and experiences to overcome those notions of discrimination (intentional or not). Urban spaces are a greater issue outside of Colorado College's jurisdiction of power but push reform for greater public transportation in Colorado Springs. Also, establish third places for students outside of campus and integrate more accessibility for students to get to destinations.

  Conclusion

       North American cities had some drawbacks of third urban spaces and to improve community engagement or walkability. Many factors created a lack of third spaces, such as car-dependent societies, suburban life, gated communities, and other external problems that potentially contribute to urban space issues. The issues of urban spaces are complex and interconnected with ideas on how to make an ideal walkable city in North America. Toronto is an example of a North American metropolitan area that contributes to urban improvements, but Toronto has the potential to grow its transportation urban spaces.

      The queer spaces in Toronto are generally inclusive of universal care with housing, financial support, and social acceptance from the city itself. Organizations and community building is an extreme theme that enforces excellent third spaces and creates cultural significance in areas. However, Toronto failed to recognize the inclusivity and intersectionality of spatial awareness in urban spaces. The queer spaces included pride and social acceptance from outsiders of the community, but the LGBT+ community in Toronto for BIPOC queer individuals conveys a message white a centered area. Socio-economic and gentrification are leading factors of risk of third spaces not being racially diverse. Many BIPOC individuals who identify with the LGBT+ community focused on relocating to different neighborhoods with uncertain transit options and accessibility to the local community. Third spaces exist to change meaning for audiences of a majority white upper-class individuals in that designated community. The shifts of urban third places potentially allude to digital social media and the COVID-19 pandemic changing the atmosphere of public usage of urban places.

        The urban spaces shift to a crater audience, and the patterns seen in homelessness in low-income areas. Those low-income areas like Moss Park are in the process of being gentrified simultaneously with a large amount of homelessness. A general approach to urban accessibility or planning is community building and active engagement to develop substantial third places.

       I suggest for future research in this area quantitative data on the three neighborhoods geolocation and I would select by race, language, occupancy by country, socioeconomic income, and population density. Those are important factors in looking at how each neighborhood changes over time and Canada’s immigration of many different ethnicities in the country. On the other hand, I suggested a longer time to adequately assess different neighborhoods more in-depth with the ethnographic study. Along with time, more time would suggest exploring the digital realm of queer space and how digital spaces interact with the perception of neighborhoods. Digital spaces contribute to urban development, gentrification, third spaces, and many factors that improve or damage Toronto's unique culture as a city. This question would answer many concerns about how third spaces shift over time and how community building potentially benefits from accessible cities. Canada had accessible transit for all initials like LGBT+, minorities, and many marginalized groups. I found many factors that successfully contribute to the accessible North American model of a metropolitan city. 

Acknowledgement

This venture grant can help the Colorado College community assist marginalized students on campus and the greater Colorado Springs community. Once again, I appreciate the funding and support from the Keller Family. The engagement in a sociological Ethnographic Study to critically think about urban spaces and BIPOC queer experiences in North America.