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Street Naming and Name Preserving in Urbanization: A Cultural Memory Perspective

Heng Zhang

School of Foreign Languages, Nanchang Normal University, Nanchang, China

Abstract: This paper aims to put forward some suggestions to name the streets in the context of urbanization. Cultural memory which can elicit the public’s memory to the past and influence their identity is drawn on. For naming the streets, it is suggested to take into account firstly the issue of contestation of names which may be positively associated with a past memory for one group and may also be negative to another group. Three sources, including the name of the wise men, past classical works, and ancient buildings are suggested for reference. In terms of preserving the street names, such proposals as building complementary billboard signs, compiling street name books, as well as creating multimodal street names map are proposed.

Keywords: street naming, preserving, urbanization, cultural memory

Received July 30, 2020; Revised September 01, 2020; Accepted September 10, 2020

Citation: Heng Zhang, Street Naming and Name Preserving in Urbanization: A Cultural Memory Perspective. World Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 6 (3). 81-84. January 2020. doi:10.12691/wjssh-6-3-3

1. Introduction

Urbanization involves the expansion of cities and the boom of city dwellers. According to a brief introduction from the UN website, the current world has witnessed an increase in urbanization by which more than half of the global population lives in urban areas in contrast to the share worldwide about one third in 1950 and with the projection of around two thirds in 2050 [1]. In China’s mainland, based on a report released from the National Bureau of Statistics in February 2020, by the end of 2019, the urbanization rate of China's permanent residents has already exceeded half of its total population (1.40005 billion), arriving at 60.60% [2].

In order to adapt to the surge of inhabitants living in the cities, the cities are also experiencing a rapid development of infrastructure construction including vertical housebuilding and horizontal road construction [3]. In addition to the concern of such issues as who to invest, how to design, or when to complete, to list a few, how to name these buildings, particularly the streets should also be taken into account. Admittedly, numerous roads or streets are being newly built, rebuilt, or displaced by other facilities, thus being accompanied by the appearance of new names and possible disappearance of the old.

It should be noted that to give a street a new name or to abandon an old one is not an easy thing; instead, several factors are supposed to consider. Such perspectives as the political agenda, the onsite geographic features, economic consideration, or the customs and culture, etc. will possibly and potentially affect the process of naming a street [4]. This is true to the preservation (inheritance and protection) of the street name. As such, in this paper, we are going to discuss these issues from the perspective of cultural memory. It is hoped that by drawing on cultural memory, we can provide an additional approach to aid the naming agents to name and preserve the street names in the context of urbanization.

2. Cultural Memory and Street Name

2.1. Overview of Cultural Memory

Cultural memory was put forward by Jan Assmann in 1988 by drawing from two sources. One is from sociologist Maurice Halbwachs’s concept of “collective memory” which is commented to only thematize the relation between memory and group. The other comes from the art historian Aby Warburg’s concept of “social memory” which emphasized the nexus between memory and the language of cultural forms. By relating these three aspects, namely, “memory (the contemporized past), culture, and the group (society) to each other” [[5]; 129], Jan Assmann initiated the notion of cultural memory. Furthermore, Jan Assmann claimed that cultural memory is under the umbrella term collective memory in terms of group sharing and cultural identity. Therefore, he introduced “communicative memory” to distinguish Halbwachs’s “collective memory”, narrowly referring to everyday communication memory where cultural properties were excluded. This kind of culture is informally transmitted via orality on personal and autobiographical memories limited to the recent past, with a relatively short term of three to four generations (80 to 110 years) [6].

In contrast, according to Assmann & Czaplicka, cultural memory keeps its distance from the everyday and it is embodied in such objectified cultural formation as texts, rites, monuments celebrations, objects, sacred scriptures, and other media that are associated with “fateful” events or mythic history in the absolute past (some about 3000 years) [5]. Cultural memory is fixed and does not change with the time passing by. In other words, it can be preserved, transferred, and reincorporated throughout generations by means of such institutionalized formal communication as recitation, practice, or observance, usually abiding by the organization of specialists in certain fields. What is particularly significant is that in the process of social interaction, cultural memory helps the participants construct a special identity of belonging and sense of obligation. Of course, it also should be noted that certain communicative memory, once it is objectivized and allows a given group to reproduce new identity, can be transformed into cultural memory (For example, the events of World War I/II).

2.2. Street Names in Cultural Memory

Street names are used to mark the location information of a given street or road so that passengers (or drivers) can position themselves in a specific area. In addition to this practical informing and directing function, street names can involve other issues regarding power, culture, and identity [7]. Savage & Yeoh (2013) claim that place names (including street names) indicate numerous aspects of a country, including but not limited to history, people, aspirations, as well as self-image. In this sense, the issue of street names is not a simple one but mixes in a social, cultural, economic, and political exercise in which city planners, administrators, developers, and the informed public are engaged [8].

As such, street names inherently keep themselves part of cultural memory [9,10], functioning as a media or a carrier to bring the past into the present and embed history into an inscription in a city’s landscape. In the practice of echoing cultural memory, commemorative street names successfully attract the street naming agents’ (i.e. government administrators) attention and can be seen here and there in a city. Furthermore, most commemorative street names were mainly named after a historical figure for the public to remember and thus becoming embroiled in political manipulation [10,11,12]. For example, some commemorative street names were based on Martin Luther King who sacrificed himself for better freedom and equal society for the African Americans in the United States [10,13]. Others could employ Soviet symbols in post-Soviet Georgia [14], or such names could appear in a specific time being as in Berlin from 1945 to 1948 [15].

Admittedly, commemorative street names with famous heroes or figures can be a sound way to secure a regime in building historical consciousness and national identity. However, we should keep in mind that commemorative street naming itself is a contested process [10,15,16]. That is to say, while transmitting national identity to some people supporting the regime, commemorative street names may bring along disagreement or dissatisfaction from the rival part or even resent from other minor ethnic groups [17]. As such, when naming streets from the cultural memory perspective, the naming agents are supposed to be mindful and should take many issues into account. In this paper, we aim to provide them with some possible suggestions to name streets and preserve the street names.

3. Street Naming in Cultural Memory

3.1. Considerations before Naming Streets

It is clear that street names are a way to show the political orders’ attempt to inscribe particular meanings in public space [18]. Of course, these particular meanings are not arbitrarily or randomly assigned. Instead, a couple of things need to be taken into account and the following are some suggestions for the naming agents who are conferred the naming power by the government.

The reading of street names from the public helps them shape their identities and accordingly render the naming agents an opportunity to consider what can be conveyed in street names. Therefore, for the name agents, apart from considering showing political memories of great heroes in street names, they should also make it clear that street names can bring the public especially the locals to the past and tell them who they are, what group they belong to, what great figures they can learn from or they feel proud of, as well as what morality they are cultivated.

What is more, as is mentioned previously, the naming process is actually contested, so they should think about another issue, resonance [10]. Ideal, street names can resonate with the public to remember what happened in the past. However, it should be noted that in some complex societies especially the ones which are constituted of various ethnic groups, that ideal consonance may be impossible to achieve. That is to say, a street name may be positively associated with a past memory for one group; however, it may be negative to another group. Therefore, the name agents should consider the constitution of the public and name the streets neutrally to keep the balance between different ethnic groups, especially for the ones with different political views.

3.2. Sources of Street Names

3.2.1. From the Names of the Wise Men

The above analysis reminds us of the reluctance of naming streets with commemorative heroes which may arouse controversies in the public. Under the premise of being neutral and meanwhile keeping a certain identity, a safe way is to consider some wise in history. They can be great poets, novelists, or philosophers who are cherished and respected for their great contributions to the development of the national literature, arts, or ideological formation. These wise men can, to a certain extent, bring the public to the past flourishing development in their respective fields that is worth memorizing. For example, if a road is named after Shakespeare, it is undoubted that the passengers will associate the street name with this great playwright, his comedy and tragedy, and accordingly show up a sense of pride or admiration. The same is true in China, which has generated hundreds of thousands of wise men in its long history. These people are supposed to be memorized and honored and their names in the street names will construct the residents’ sense of belongings and identity. What is more, these names belong to the whole nation, and to use them to name streets will not give rise to some unnecessary contestations among people.

3.2.2. From the Classical Works

In addition to the direct use of the names of wise men, their works, remarks, quotes, wisdom words, as well, provide a source for naming streets. Whatever type of work it is, be it long or short novels, plays, poems, historical collections, or just a sentence, the readers can be touched, moved, or educated in the process of reading. Therefore, it is suggested to extract some insightful statements which can tell the public a certain truth, morality, as well as value to name streets. By using such epigram-like names, the public can be waken up to associate and memorize what their ancestors did in the past and thus being led to an active, positive, and aggressive atmosphere. For example, in China, the streets around a school can be named as “Mingde” (bright virtue), or “Zhishan” (supreme good), both are taken from The Great Learning, one of the Four Books of Confucianism. Again, it should be noted that it is better to pick out the words or terms neutrally without any controversies or contestations.

3.2.3. From the Ancient Buildings

Every city, especially the old one, has its own characteristics with far-reaching history. Therefore, it is not surprising to find some buildings which have witnessed the ups and downs of a city, and thus becoming landmarks in a city. For example, there are many architectural heritages which functioned in the ancient time as an administrative office, cultural center, and military facility, etc. Names such as Chayuan (Examination Room in feudal China), Dufu (Governor’s Office in feudal China), Xunsi (Inspection Department responsible for local public security) can be used in the street names to remind the public of the administrative or social management in feudal China. Clearly, in association with such street names, the public, including the local residents and tourists, can feel the refulgence in the past and the continuity of history, thus shaping their identity or forming a sense of belonging.

4. Street Name Preserving in Cultural Memory

From the perspective of cultural memory, street names are a complex which bears various cultures and refreshes the memory of the past. In other words, street names are in essence a carrier to connect the past and the present. They play a role to revive and preserve a certain culture which is accordingly transmitted, inherited, and protected. Jordan (2009) argues, in the context of debates over landscape and cultural heritage that if cultural landscapes are worth protecting and if place names are a part of these landscapes, they are supposed to be protected systematically [19]. As such, street names which are a part of place names, deserve preservation. In addition to enacting laws or regulations to preserve place names by the government at different levels, for example, the Chinese central government issued The Administrative Regulations for Geographical Names [20], there can be some other possible means to preserve street names in cultural memory.

4.1. Setting up Street Name Billboards as Onsite Preservation

In a society where writing is a necessary component of communication, writing undeniably is a significant medium in preserving cultural memory [5]. Street names themselves are city-text [11]. However, since the information in a street name may not be sufficient, wherever it appears, be it on a sign in the street, or in a book as a proper name, their direct power to bring the public to the cultural memory could be restricted. Therefore, in order to make up this potential disadvantage, it is suggested to set up street name billboard signs in the street. By street name billboard sign, we mean a uniformly-designed structure which consists of the basic information regarding a street, including its length, width, age, cultural meaning of the names, as well as origin which has something to do with cultural memory.

By building such a complementary sign together with the street name (usually on the street name sign), the construction of “a site of memory” [[5]; 35] can be imitated. Although smaller in scale and less formal than a museum or a monument, this on-site sign, from the perspective of cultural memory, could provide the public with a sense of ceremony and strengthen their understanding of the street name, which could co-affect their identity with the street name.

4.2. Compiling Street Names Books as Offsite Preservation

In addition to setting up billboard signs as an onsite approach to preserve street names, we also suggest compiling street name books as an offsite compliment. Unlike encyclopedic books only showing the brief introduction to the street names or their geographic information with illustration, it is suggested to make the books of narratives or reminiscences style. As such, some old folks can be interviewed, and then their narrative and memory of certain streets they live can be recorded. Specifically, the books compiled will include the origin of the street names, the name changing history, some sharing experiences, old photos, or the landscape of the streets, etc. In this way, these books can serve as a carrier of cultural memory to elicit the readers’ sense of home or nostalgia and meanwhile, preserve the street names.

4.3. Building Multimodal Street Names Map

The rapid advancement in information technology also changes the medium of cultural memory, making digital media a new way to circulate and curate cultural memories [21]. The current online street maps such as Google street map, Baidu street map are available at any time for daily use. People can search the street names directly and see the street views visibly. For the preservation of street names, it is suggested to build a multimodal street map based on the existing map. In such a map, some multimodal materials like the introduction of the street names, some old photos of certain streets, as well as some stories and narratives of certain streets can be added or provided. That is to say, this digital map is not a simple map for location searching and directing; rather, it is a map of cultural memory. In the process of facilitating memory or remembrance, the street names are preserved.

5. Conclusion

Cultural memory is essentially of political flavor and is embedded in different mediums including street names. Meanwhile, the practice of naming streets can, to a certain degree, influence, and facilitate cultural memory. In the context of urbanization, the amount of streets increases and naming streets becomes necessary. As such, it is feasible to name the streets from the perspective of cultural memory. This paper tentatively provides some suggestions with the naming agent of cities to name streets and preserve the street names. In terms of naming streets, it is suggested to consider the issue of contestation of names which may be positively associated with a past memory for one group and be negative to another group as well. Three sources including from the name of wise men, past classical works, and ancient buildings are suggested for reference. For preserving, meaning inheriting and protecting the street names, proposals including building complementary billboard signs, compiling street name books, as well as creating multimodal street name map are put forward.

Acknowledgments

This study is under the support of the Jiangxi Provincial Planning Program of Cultural and Artistic Science (2017). Project No. YG2017291.

References

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