Re-name the Streets. Toponymic Struggles and Civic Belonging in Murcia (Spain) and Johannesburg (South Africa)

Abstract

Toponymic struggles are about forms of civic belonging that street names enable or prevent. Drawing on a moral economy perspective, this article examines similarities and differences between struggles over street names in the Spanish city of Murcia and the South African metropolis of Johannesburg. In contrasting these cases, a paradox becomes apparent: While actors in toponymic struggles have to evoke moral goods such as inclusivity, fairness and neutrality to advocate for change or in defense of the status quo, these values are rendered suspect in the very same process. Nonetheless, in the examined cases toponymic struggles lead in part to more inclusive solutions than those originally expected by actors that face each other as adversaries in the local moral economy of toponymic struggles. The article is based on intensive field research in both areas of study, including participant observation, qualitative interviews, online ethnography, and an analysis of newspaper articles and policy documents.