Minding the (diversity) gap in street names

These unfair streets

You might not notice it walking down Avenue Victor Hugo in Paris, Via Garibaldi in Venice or Strada Xenofon in Bucharest. But once you start paying attention, you can't stop wondering: where are all the women?

Why so many saints and soldiers, and so few scientists? Where are people of colour, of other cultures, of any gender? Why so many white men?

When OBC Transeuropa asked us to work on a dataset of 145,933 streets across 30 major European cities in 17 countries, we felt a great responsibility. What patterns would the data reveal? And how could we help a broad public relate to the topic, and push for change?

It's not just a matter of naming

Developed with EDJNet, Mapping Diversity uses data storytelling, with scrollytelling and simple visualizations, to show how few women are honoured in street names.

Street names have symbolic power. They result from decisions rooted in how we legitimise the past and build collective memory. Naming streets after women means recognising those who shaped our history, in the places we cross every day.

Spread the word!

If data is the new oil, we should also consider its side effects. Data can be badly collected, imprecise or partial, and the consequences can be serious.

That's why, before making decisions with data, we should ask where it comes from, how it was collected, and who it represents or leaves out: the basics of data literacy. Behind its playful look, Mapping Diversity has a social aim: to raise awareness, once again, about the hype around data.

A dataset that reveals who is missing?

Sometimes the most important story is the one the data doesn't tell. Do you need to visualize your data too? We're here.