Category: citizenship

What’s in a place name? Part 2, urban citizenship

24 July, 2012 (09:15) | Cities, citizenship, Costa Rica, Formalization, informality, Infrastructure, mail, Streets, Theory, Urbanization |

By:David A. Smith   [Continued from yesterday's Part 1.]   Yesterday’s post reviewing the Wall Street Journal‘s story of San Jose, Costa Rica’s efforts to formalize its system of street addresses had already uncovered the extraordinary efficiency gains to be realized (today one in four letters in Costa Rica goes astray). And even those gains, [...]

What’s in a place name? Part 1, efficiency

23 July, 2012 (14:49) | Cities, citizenship, Costa Rica, Formalization, informality, Infrastructure, mail, Streets, Theory, Urbanization |

By:David A. Smith   Where’s that damn mailman, anyway?   Hermits need no addresses because they receive no mail; the rest of us need to be connected to the information grid, and for that, each node needs a unique location, the naming of which can be a transitional moment from tribe to government, as reported [...]