Cultural memory and identity through street names: A survey of the inhabitants in Nanchang

Abstract

This study investigated whether street names could evoke the inhabitants’ cultural memory and identity in Nanchang, China. In total, 446 participants were surveyed online to answer 16 questions regarding their attitude of the street names with various cultural contents. The result showed although in various degrees, street names did evoke the inhabitants’ cultural memory and identity. By and large, the agreement proportion of street names after figures, events, and religious sites or buildings was relatively higher than that of ancient buildings, historical allusions, and ancient myths. It is argued that this variation mainly relied on the respondents’ familiarity with the cultural background. It is also suggested to consider how to enrich such cultural knowledge to keep more effective function of street names on cultural memory and identity.