Most mid- and big-size cities around the world have red-light districts, although the legality of the activities that occur in these areas, the degree of openness with which they are conducted, as well as the views of the general public and the authorities on these districts differ widely around the world.
Some red-light districts (such as De Wallen, Netherlands, or Reeperbahn, Germany) are places which are officially designated by authorities for legal and regulated prostitution.[2] Often these red-light districts were formed by authorities to help regulate prostitution and other related activities, such that they were confined to a single area.[7] With the confining of such industries to a single area, such districts became a destination for originally sailors but also tourists.
Other red-light districts such as those from Thailand, and most parts of Asia, are areas which are unofficially monitored by the authorities: in spite of the illegality of prostitution in these places, the practice is tolerated and controlled by officials, and little is done to reduce or eliminate it.
