{"title":"Problematizing urban microtoponyms","authors":"Sergei Basik","doi":"10.1111/gec3.12732","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>A spatial perspective on microtoponyms, informal non-standardized names of small objects and places known to the locals, is an often-neglected segment of urban political toponymic theory and practice. Though critically-oriented thinkers have acknowledged the role of vernacular place names in the spatial organization of symbolic cultural landscapes, place-making processes, and the everyday life of people and their communities, conceptual spatial-political theorizations on this subject have been relatively rare. Driven upon the critical toponymic theory, this paper aims to delineate a conceptual framework for studying urban microtoponyms as spatial phenomena by integrating the toponymic plurality notion. Based on examples primarily from non-Western geographical contexts, this paper offers a fresh perspective on urban place naming practices and related spatial processes providing some analytical pathways for critical scholars in urban toponymy and guiding potential empirical investigations in this field.</p>","PeriodicalId":51411,"journal":{"name":"Geography Compass","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.1000,"publicationDate":"2023-12-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Geography Compass","FirstCategoryId":"89","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gec3.12732","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"GEOGRAPHY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
A spatial perspective on microtoponyms, informal non-standardized names of small objects and places known to the locals, is an often-neglected segment of urban political toponymic theory and practice. Though critically-oriented thinkers have acknowledged the role of vernacular place names in the spatial organization of symbolic cultural landscapes, place-making processes, and the everyday life of people and their communities, conceptual spatial-political theorizations on this subject have been relatively rare. Driven upon the critical toponymic theory, this paper aims to delineate a conceptual framework for studying urban microtoponyms as spatial phenomena by integrating the toponymic plurality notion. Based on examples primarily from non-Western geographical contexts, this paper offers a fresh perspective on urban place naming practices and related spatial processes providing some analytical pathways for critical scholars in urban toponymy and guiding potential empirical investigations in this field.
期刊介绍:
Unique in its range, Geography Compass is an online-only journal publishing original, peer-reviewed surveys of current research from across the entire discipline. Geography Compass publishes state-of-the-art reviews, supported by a comprehensive bibliography and accessible to an international readership. Geography Compass is aimed at senior undergraduates, postgraduates and academics, and will provide a unique reference tool for researching essays, preparing lectures, writing a research proposal, or just keeping up with new developments in a specific area of interest.