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Future Research Directions

An unanticipated outcome of this research is a potential method to test and compare social movements. Most research in this field is qualitative in nature, focusing on key events, actors or organizations behind the development, success and diffusion of social movements. However, movements with specific spatial or ‘boundaried’ aspects provide comparative units for analysis. In the case of gay and lesbian urban movements, all share similar goals with outcomes including civil rights ordinances, population increases and diffusion, and social intolerance in the form of hate crimes. Future research could examine the application of this model to other social movements where the population may share similar characteristics across similar boundary types (i.e. latino/a immigration rights in Kansas city versus New York City). Does this model explain foreign-born immigrant movements to particular cities? Artists? African Americans? Moreover, what role does the success of an urban social movement play into the city attracting more residents? Does this approach apply to states? Regions? Neighborhoods?
Additionally, chapter four presents a new method, mostly untested, in social science research.

The standardized spatial Gini index captures the interesting effect when both isolation and exposure increase. It is able to measure both unevenness (exposure) and concentration (isolation) in one number and then compare that across similar units of analysis. Above, I used concentration percentages in the clustering analysis over the spatial Gini index. The reason being that same-sex households are so few, that the spatial Gini would fall short in reliability. However, future social movement research could compare the spatial Gini for bohemians, foreign-born immigrants, poverty, race with social movement outcomes.