Sub-urban Sexscapes ─ Geographies and Regulation of the Sex Industry

(Sub)Urban Sexscapes presents a collection of expert original contributions from geographical, sociological, urban planning and legal viewpoints of the commercial sex industry – sex shops, strip clubs, gentlemen’s clubs, brothels and sex workers. The chapters in this collection highlight the complex geographical, economic and sociological contours of the sexual/sexualised city, drawing on a mix of research that focuses on the spatialities, politics, regulation, and promotion of commercial sex activities. The contributors examine a range of sex industry topics – sexuality, desire, promiscuity, deviance, eroticism, entertainment, seduction and pornification – to highlight how the city embraces or embodies these concepts. This international book showcases contemporary and historical examples of the location, impacts and regulation of commercial sex industry activities in the USA, UK, Australia and Morocco.

Paul J. Maginn is Associate Professor of Urban and Regional Planning at The University of Western Australia. He is co-editor of three previous books: Planning Australia: An Overview of Urban and Regional Planning (with Susan Thompson); Qualitative Urban Analysis: An International Perspective; and Qualitative Housing Analysis: An International Perspective (both with Susan Thompson & Matthew Tonts). He has recently completed research on male sex workers/escorts in Ireland (with Graham Ellison, QUB) and undertaking research on the regulation of sex work in Scotland. In addition to his research on the sex industry, Paul is conducting research on strategic planning and planning reform in Australia.

Christine Steinmetz is a Senior Lecturer in the Bachelor of Planning program at the University of New South Wales, Australia. Her research on contentious land-uses in the urban environment, particularly the adult entertainment and commercial sex industries in Sydney, focuses on planning and regulation around these land uses, progressive and best models 'in practice' from a global perspective, and the significant contribution commercial sex brings to the night time economy. Numerous publications reflect her main areas of interest: subcultural sex-on-premises venues and the regulatory framework that surrounds them; generational cohorts and their perceptions of the meaning of place on university campuses; and, postgraduate student experiences undertaking higher research degrees.