The Address Book: What Street Addresses Reveal About Identity, Race, Wealth, and Power

by Deirdre Mask

Early street names were often descriptive—Church Street, Market Road, Cemetery Lane. Bobby Sands was not only a street name—it was also a monument. Modern street names do more than describe; they commemorate.

The World Bank has produced Street Addressing and the Management of Cities, a free, comprehensive course for city officials on street addressing infrastructure. It is basically Street Addressing 101, run by the experienced experts I expected to find tackling this problem today. The course is excellent—both clear and thorough.