Red-light districts without brothels?

[James Callan]

Seattle's currently hashing over new strip club laws, and residents of the neighborhood that borders the proposed new cabaret zone aren't too happy about it. Several activists have described it as a red-light district:

"An adult cabaret zone? That is a red-light district," said Robin Tomazic of the Georgetown Neighborhood Council. "A place where strip clubs can congregate in one area... that is a red-light district."

I've only heard red-light district referring to areas that are home to prostitution, not really tame strip clubs. Several dictionaries, including the OED online, back me up.

Is a non-bordello definition of red-light district particularly common? If so, when did the definition expand?

James Callan
neologasm.com

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