VietNamNet Bridge – Urban specialists have been suggesting since 2015 that Ha Noi number its streets, rather than name them. Currently, most streets are named after people who contributed to the cause of national development.

Illustrative image -- File photo

With nearly 1,200 roads and streets named for landmarks and celebrities, such as Tran Hung Dao, Ly Thuong  Kiet, the city is running out of names.

Some have applauded the numerical proposal, others have not.

Historian Duong Trung Quoc said he personally welcomed the city leaders’ idea.

"In my opinion, for some newly-built areas, we can name them in numbers. For old streets, we should keep the fixed name and add more number,” he told Viet Nam Television.

“Naming streets and roads by number is scientific and most reasonable. People can easily find address, especially foreign tourists,” said Ha Thanh, a teacher. “I think many tourists are confused when they look at the Ha Noi map to find streets. In addition, digital systems will help people find addresses faster and urban managers will also manage better,” she said.

Dr Nguyen Thi Viet Thanh of Ha Noi National University also approves of the idea. “Ha Noi will develop so I fully applaud the city’s policy to review the current street naming process and find the most suitable option," Thanh said.

“For me, it is not so important. The name of a street is only to help people easily find addresses. But I still prefer to name streets the traditional way with the names of heroes, artists or celebrities,” said Nguyen Quang Phuc, 45, a resident of the city’s Dong Da District.

Nguyen Tien Phuong, 79, a resident of Pham Ngoc Thach Street, said he did not oppose naming roads and streets in numbers, but current naming was also good. “The old one is still good and it is not necessary to change to the new one,” he said. Street names also express culture and history, he added.

“The Old Quarter is the historic soul of Ha Noi because of the famous streets that make up the place, all named for the types of goods or service they were originally known for such as Hang Bac, Hang Dao or Hang Ngang. Can you imagine those names changed into numbers? Numbers are lifeless,” Phuong said.

Do people know about the streets’ history?

People feel close to streets named after celebrities, events and place names, said Do Nhu Mai, a resident of Nguyen Khuyen Street. “City authorities should carefully study the new naming system if the bank of ancient names and celebrities is limited. People don’t want the change, it will affect their life,” she said.

Dr Nguyen Quang Ngoc, vice chairman of the Viet Nam Association of History and Science, a member of the council for naming and changing street names of Ha Noi, told Tien Phong (Vanguard) newspaper that many countries name roads and streets in numbers.

Choosing a name or a number for streets and roads should depend on the characteristics of local residents, he said.

Historian Nguyen Hong Kien notes that “many streets have same name in Ha Noi and Ha Dong District and people always confuse them.

"And the house number chaos is also a problem. I think the city’s authorities should focus on completing house addresses rather than naming the streets in numbers,” said Le Tien, an engineer in Xa Dan Street, a newly-built road in Ha Noi.

“I think we don’t lack for celebrities, cultural and revolutionary heroes. The problem is just which name we should choose for that street,” said Hoang Duc Minh, a veteran teacher in Thanh Xuan District.

“On many streets, the name plates include information about the celebrities and heroes after which they were named to help people know and remember more about history, especially the young generation. It is a good idea. Why we should change the traditional way in naming?” asked Minh.

In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the heroine asks the immortal question, "what’s in a name".

With a population of 10 million, stable names for streets are most important because each street name is not just an address, it is also associated with its living and working residents.

Thu Hang

VNS