Street Renaming and Urban Justice in Bulawayo: A Cost–Benefit Analysis through Critical Toponymy and Capability Theory

This article explores the economic dimension of street renaming in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Existing literature has focused on the cultural and political dimensions of street renaming, paying little attention to the economic dimension of name changes in fiscally constrained contexts. The study is grounded on the theoretical frameworks from critical toponymy, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and Sen’s capability approach. The study utilizes a comparative qualitative document analysis, focusing on Zimbabwe, South Africa, Canada and the United States of America in order to interrogate the economic dimension of street renaming in diverse contexts. The study reveals significant opportunity costs associated with street renaming in financially constrained contexts where citizens are faced with severe capability deprivations. In conclusion, the article proposes a pragmatic framework which seeks to balance symbolic transformation and capability expansion, arguing that the primacy of basic needs satisfaction should be prioritised in resource constrained and crisis-stricken contexts in urban areas.