For a good time, Google ""Critical Toponymy." Thanks to the ever-effervescent and informative Anne Schindler for examining the concept on June 25, 2026.
Two Indiana University professors, Pamela Morris and George Towers, discussed the concept of "Critical Toponymy" in Southern neighborhoods on First Coast Connect on WJCT News June 25, 2026. Fascinating.
Confederate place names and their effect on residential housing are worthy of study.
"JEFF DAVIS PLANTATION" (all capital letters) in Fayetteville, Georgia connotes racism. So does "Dixie Highway."
So too are "developments" that named for the trees developers clear-cut. Some tree species for which streets are named are extinct or endangered: Chestnut comes to mind. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADA6cuWy8Xg
My favorite example: "Oak Pines" in Pemberton, N.J., a development where my late Father sold homes. My Mother and I, being grammar sticklers, thought was the funniest place name, laughing uproariously. A tree is either an "oak" or a "pine." Using the word "oak' to modify "pines" is silly beyond words.
Should we empower wealthy so-called "developers" to name our streets and neighborhoods?
Why?
"All their taste is in their mouths," as my Mother would say.
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