Pad (Dec 2022)
Mapping Diversity. The Memory Street Names Celebrate
Abstract
In his book Digital Methods, Richard Rogers enshrines the end of the “virtual” by pointing out how the online and physical worlds are intrinsically linked (2015). Indeed, 4.5 billion people tap into and pour their data into the Web daily, giving rise to a recursive system in which online and offline mutually reverberate and influence each other; the boundary between the two worlds has never been so blurred. After more than 30 years, the Web may also be likened to an extensive database, a memory that keeps track of the users’ actions and behaviour, a hyperobject to which we contribute and whose effects we experience (Morton, 2013). In this light, the Web evolved from a communication tool to a potential social research tool (Rogers, 2015). In this context, the present paper introduces and analyses the case study Mapping Diversity (n.d.), a project that questions the gender gap in the toponymy of Italian cities. Toponymic issues are intrinsically linked to the values and memory celebrated by dedicating a street to a specific person. Mapping Diversity questions the memory that goes into celebrating toponymy, drawing on the memory made available by the Web in open data. It is, in turn, a digital commons that also contributes to the debate on the role of design in the social and digital spheres. It can support greater civic awareness and a better-informed discussion on complex and multifaceted issues toward a more inclusive and diverse society.
