"Queering Denver": Crowdsourcing safe spaces for the LGBTQ community

Abstract

Placemaking and community building is difficult and people within the LGBTQ community face many challenges, both historically and in the present. LGBTQ people often will leave their homes and families to seek out a welcoming, accepting environment. Cities, like Denver, Colorado, become a place where members of the LGBTQ can find common space and a community. As legislative and community attacks increase nationwide, establishing a safe space for queer people is of even greater importance.

This project is a crowdsourcing attempt to map the LGBTQ community in Denver. Using Survey123, participants mapped queer spaces around the Denver metro area, answering questions about what makes them feel safe in their community. The project incorporates historic spaces, the work of LGBTQ organizations, and historic documents to show important and pivotal spaces within the Denver area, and transformations within the Denver area. This project attempts to answer the question: How do queer people create safe spaces in Denver historically and presently? What impact do queer people have on the urban environment of Denver? What challenges do queer people still face in establishing community?