This article complicates the popular contention that "Grindr is killing the gay bar" by using qualitative interviews with Grindr users and a diverse literature on urban development. To better understand the factors that have gone into the changing face of the gayborhood and the closing of gay bars, this article encourages stakeholders to focus on a democratic approach to these technologies and considers Grindr and similar apps along with many other factors that affect urban development.
Keywords: LGBTQ studies; Social media; platform studies; sexuality; urban studies.