Lemondrop

Gay residents of Cologne, Germany, one of Europe's most tolerant cities, are being invited to live in an all-gay housing development in a working-class neighborhood. "Villa Anders," which means "Alternative Village," is set to open in 2009 and will be Germany's first multi-generational center for gay living.

The housing development, which is to be partly sponsored by the state, will include gays, lesbians, transgendered people and a 15 percent quota of straight people who are somehow part of gay families.

Stefan Juengst, a spokesperson for the project, explained that many of the families who've reserved most of the 34 housing units available, feel "hidden" in a mostly straight society. The goal of the project is to foster community and acceptance by letting "the community know that we are there, and we are visible," says Juengst. But many gays, especially older men, fear the address will make them easy targets of violence.

Gay-specific housing is nothing new and is a frequent option on college campuses in the U.S. Weslyan University offers Open House, while other schools have certain floors or residences (whether officially designated or de facto) for gay students. Some condos, housing complexes and apartment buildings in the States are marketed to gays or generally have a gay majority.

In Cologne, some worry that the project will actually set the gay community back. Similar attempts there have failed he says, because "there's so much homophobia that the place would be firebombed within days." But there's been little opposition to the idea so far, so Juengst hopes to work closely with the community and include neighbors in activities.

Tell us: Do projects like this one help to integrate and foster understanding or, do they segregate and make dialogue more difficult?