The semantic street map guide: research on people that name our streets and what it says about our society

Abstract. The street network in urban settlements reflects decades—or even centuries—of history and transformation. Street layouts, zoning from gradual expansion, and architecture all offer insights into a city’s development. But beyond physical form, street names also reveal the history and traditions of the area, exposing past power dynamics and the political views of those who chose them.

Often, the individuals behind these names are largely unfamiliar to the public. This lack of recognition makes it harder to perceive the inequalities embedded in this dimension of the urban landscape. Yet, even without knowing their specific identities, certain patterns are readily apparent—for instance, the overwhelming presence of male figures compared to female ones, among those commemorated in our street names.

Many projects analyse urban toponymy from historical, social, or spatial perspectives, often focusing on individual cities through detailed case studies. However, examining larger datasets at regional or national levels could offer deeper insights into societal evolution. Such analysis requires automated methods to reliably identify the individuals behind street names and collect relevant information about them.

This article outlines the procedures developed by the Spanish National Geographic Institute to characterize the street network according to the identities of the individuals after whom streets are named in the Madrid region, which is home to over 7 million people across 180 municipalities.