Street name controversy
There is a broad spectrum of views on how to resolve street name controversies, varying from radical change to complete maintenance of the status quo.
The street names need to change as soon as possible, and sometimes vandalism and other forms of civil disobedience may be justified to make a point, influence public opinion, and put pressure on local politics.
[6][7] In post-war Austria, Franz Langoth was long viewed as a "good" Nazi who bore no responsibility for the excesses of the regime.
[8] In the Brussels Capital Region, Eupen-Malmedy and the municipalities with language facilities, both street names and road signs are officially bilingual.
In former East Germany (officially German Democratic Republic or DDR), many street names still refer to the communist era.
World War II In 1942, because of anti-Italian sentiment in Brazil during World War II, after a complaint from the National Defense League, the central square of Caxias do Sul, named after Dante Alighieri, was renamed Ruy Barbosa square, and Avenida Itália (Italy Avenue) became Avenida Brasil (Brazil Avenue).
[11][12] Military dictatorship In 2014, the city council of Porto Alegre renamed Castelo Branco Avenue, named after the first president of the Brazilian military dictatorship, to Avenida Legalidade e da Democracia (Legality and Democracy Avenue), referencing the movement dubbed Campanha da Legalidade (Legality Campaign) which sought to keep João Goulart in the presidency in 1961.
Arab nationalists have pressured the government to Arabise these, and named them after Moroccan national heroes, but Amazigh activists feel they have been ignored, and argue for not forgetting to acknowledge their language and culture in the process of decolonisation.
[3] In May 2020, controversy arose around the naming of streets after Salafist extremists from the Arab states of the Persian Gulf in the suburb Témara of the Moroccan capital Rabat.
[21] A well-known rule which all Dutch municipalities maintain is that a street cannot be named after a person until a specific number of years after their death.
The Dutch royal house is exempt from this rule: from the moment a new prince(ss) is born, public streets and roads may be named after them.
[22][23] Opponents of such Frisification claim that these efforts will worsen the segregation between Frisophones and Neerlandophones, lead to needless confusion and costs, or that certain historical values will be lost by name changes.
[1] Getting ambulances, firefighters or police vehicles at the correct place in time can be a matter of life and death, making the communication of the street name of vital importance.
The National–Catholic regime has left its mark in many street and square namings, which some Spaniards seek to preserve, while others make efforts to erase them.
[31] On 31 October 2007, the socialist Zapatero I government introduced the Historical Memory Law, which removed all names of General Francisco Franco himself, but left those of his henchmen and his symbols intact.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called the campaign part of an effort to "isolate Russia and de-Putinize the world.
