Visual and Toponymical Landscape

Abstract

The toponymical landscape is created by and perceived through place names. A place name arises when a society attributes values to space but, with the transformations of societies, it can evolve or simply be accompanied by new specifications. This study analyses public transport station names. It indicates how urban facilities need to be specified on the signs, and also reveals the way in which companies purchase the right to rename locations for advertising purposes. A spontaneous process of place name attribution is designated “unruly,” while the word “ruly” signals a sponsored event, with evident privatization of the public space.