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A red-light district is a neighborhood where prostitution is a common part of everyday life. The term was first recorded in the United States around 1890, and derives from the practice of placing a red light in the window to indicate to customers the (often illegal) nature of the business. This is based on the biblical story of Rahab, a prostitute in Jericho who aided the spies of Joshua and identified her house with a red light.
Interestingly, one of the many terms used for a red-light district in Japanese is akasen (赤線), meaning "red-line district".
Famous red-light districts
Africa
Asia-Pacific
- Patpong - Bangkok, Thailand
- Sukhumvit Road Area (including Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy) - Bangkok, Thailand
- Pattaya, Thailand
- Dashilan - Beijing, China
- Wanchai - Hong Kong
- Hira Mandi - Lahore, Pakistan
- Kamathipura - Mumbai, India
- Svay Pak - Phnom Penh, Cambodia
- Geylang - Singapore
- Kings Cross - Sydney, Australia
- Kabukicho - Tokyo, Japan
- Yoshiwara - Tokyo, Japan (in Edo period)
Europe
- Rue d'Aerschot Brussels, Belgium
- De Wallen - Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Raval/Barri Xines - Barcelona, Spain
- Picin Park - Belgrade, Serbia
- Jozsef Utca - Budapest, Hungary
- Reeperbahn - Hamburg, Germany
- Intendente - Lisbon, Portugal
- Cais do Sodré - Lisbon, Portugal
- Kings Cross - London, England
- Piccadilly Circus - London, England (formerly)
- Soho - London, England
- Boulevard de Clichy - Paris, France
- Pigalle - Paris, France
- Union Street - Plymouth, England (formerly; now Millbay)
- Piazza Vittorio Emmanuele - Rome, Italy
North America
- The Block - Baltimore, Maryland
- Combat Zone - Boston, Massachusetts (formerly)
- Scollay Square - Boston, Massachusetts (razed)
- Venus Alley - Butte, Montana (formerly)
- The Levee - Chicago, Illinois
- Sunset Boulevard - Hollywood, California
- Hotel Street - Honolulu, Hawaii, Hawaii
- La Merced - Mexico City, Mexico
- Zona Rosa - Mexico City, Mexico
- Storyville - New Orleans, Louisiana
- Times Square - New York City, New York (formerly)
- Marcy Street - Portsmouth, New Hampshire (1890s–1912)
- Sepulveda Boulevard - San Fernando Valley, California
- Barbary Coast - San Francisco, California (formerly)
- 14th Street - Washington, District Of Columbia (formerly)
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