Redenomination Challenges of Odonyms in Mostaganem

Urban toponymy in Algeria has gone through two main stages. The first occurred during the French colonial period, when the colonizers named streets and neighborhoods to reflect their presence and control. The second began after independence in 1962, when the Algerian government launched a comprehensive renaming process through laws and decrees to remove the colonial and ideological character of the previous names. This political initiative sometimes led to technical inconsistencies and difficulties in social adoption of the new names.

The study focused on the city of Mostaganem, considered the most organized urban model in western Algeria, following a similar study conducted in Oran. It has two main parts: the first analyzes the technical aspect of toponymy and the consistency between names on street signs and those in the official city plan. The second part examines cultural and social dimensions, showing how both French and Algerian administrations sought to assert symbolic authority through the naming of streets and neighborhoods. According to Daniel Milo, street names can promote a person or event, but they can also serve as instruments of revenge or sanction.

The study also highlights the referential dimension of name selection, emphasizing that toponymy is never random but reflects the dominant cultural characteristics of the local population at a given time, as well as the knowledge and cultural awareness of the Algerian authorities.

Key references include the UN Manual for the National Standardization of Geographical Names, and works by Algerian researchers such as Ibrahim Atoui and Farid Benramdane on toponymy and space in Algeria.