Unravel the intriguing narrative of 'Streetonomics', a study that explores the profound implications of our addresses. Discover how these seemingly mundane details can reveal fascinating insights about our identities, socio-economic status, and even our personal histories.
How and why have people chosen the ones they have?
It’s easy to take for granted that roads have titles, but look a little closer and they can reveal a great deal about the nature and character of a place, as well as its history.
- We think of street addresses as purely functional and administrative tools, but they tell a grander narrative of how power has shifted and stretched over the centuries
- In recent years, Mask and others have converged on the idea that if you want to understand a place’s culture, you should look at the titles it has chosen for its roads, alleys and boulevards.
In the 21st Century, might it be time to reconsider street names?
In 2015, research by the real estate company Zillow found that houses on named streets in the US are often worth more than numbered streets by more than 20%
- Properties on streets with less common names also tend to be more valuable
- There are already alternatives to street names such as what3words
- A proprietary system that assigns words to a location
Richard Fisher is a senior journalist for BBC Future. Twitter: @rifish
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Bancilhon and colleagues were curious about whether it might be possible to quantify some of these societal values by comparing the naming approach in different places.
They pioneered a new approach called “streetonomics” to study the patterns within 4,932 streets in Paris, Vienna, London and New York, cities chosen for their cultural influence in the Western world
Black Boy Lane
The controversial street in Tottenham, London was once named after a black American who couldn’t get past the idea that this would be her address
- While it’s unclear how the street got its name, the words “Black Boy” reminded of a condescending slur used in her home country, as well as the UK’s colonial history in the slave trade
