Initial results suggest potential significance of the prevalence and persistence of the rainbow flag and the rainbow motif. The visual assessment of rainbow flag use across these neighborhoods serves as a potential model for examining the rate of spread of rainbow flags and visual rainbow motif symbols as a means for tracking the movement of the LGBTQ+ community across urban neighborhoods. This chapter explores the prevalence and persistence of the display of the rainbow flag and rainbow motif in nine neighborhoods across Toronto, Ontario, Canada. At the same time, prevelence and use of the rainbow flag and the rainbow motif has increased in areas not usually considered part of recognized gay neighborhoods. Recently, the display and use of the rainbow flag in historically defined gay neighborhoods has grown even as gay residents and businesses have been driven away by gentrification, rising real-estate costs, and cultural homogenization.
