Symbolic Political Turns and Their Spatial Patterns: Renaming Public Spaces in the 1st and 5th Districts of Budapest

Abstract

The (re)naming of public spaces has become a central feature of one of the most known spatial references in everyday urban life. These names help in spatial orientation and administration. In addition, they are accumulations of collective memory and part of a “propaganda machine” of current (political) power. In this study I show that the network of public places and spaces are not only flow-zones, but also social products and, ultimately, a collection of symbolic space-elements which influence and shape society. In my opinion, this article’s case studies, which are the 1^st and 5th districts of Budapest, are perfect examples of a certain political phenomenon that occurs when a series of political acts and countermeasures are manifested as spatial patterns and legible city-texts. Adopting a critical view, this paper analyses the thematic spatial patterns, texts, and changes of street names in Budapest’s two core neighbourhoods by exploring the underlying political-power relationships and by questioning and contesting their appropriateness and oppression.