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A Sign of Changing Times:
A Street-Renaming Lesson from
Chapel
Hill,
North Carolina
by Derek Alderman and Preston Mitchell
A
common yet contentious issue that local government managers and elected officials
might confront during the course
of
their careers is the renaming
of a
street after
slain civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Naming streets for King is part
of a movement to recognize the often neglected historical achievements of African
Americans. Although this commemoration occurs most often
in
the southeastern
states,
it represents a national movement.
By
2003,
at least 730 streets in 39 states and the District of Columhia had been named or re-
named for King (Figure 1). Streets named for King are found across the urban hierarchy, from
metropohses such as New York, Los Angeles, and Houston to hamlets such as Cuba, Alabama,
and Pawley's Island, South Carolina.
The work
of
naming streets
for
Martin Luther King often takes place
through highly public debate
and
controversy, particularly when African
Americans seek
to
rename
a
major
thoroughfare that cuts across business
districts and through neighborhoods
of various racial and ethnic groups.
How
a
community handles the re-
naming
of a
street after
a
civil rights
icon may very well indicate how that
same community treats
its
minority
residents
in
general and how race re-
lations will be perceived in the future.
Also pertinent are discussions
of
government's responsibility to private
businesses
and
residences situated
on public streets and thoroughfares.
Residents and business owners front-
ing
a
particular street do not have
a
proprietary interest
in
whether
the
road
is
renamed; however,
it is
im-
portant to recognize that these stake-
holders do incur much, but not all,
of the cost and inconvenience
of
an
address change.
in addition, some business
and
property owners have expressed
anxiety and consternation over seeing
their street's identity changed, particu-
larly when the current road name has
a long history within the community.
Local governments have devel-
oped some creative strategies
for
mitigating
the
economic aspects
of
an address change. Some communi-
ties phase in the street renaming over
several months
or
even
a
few years
to allow for old inventories of labels,
stationery,
and
invoices
to be
used.
Some cities, like Cleanvater, Florida,
have even allowed
a
road
to
carry
two official names—the old and
the
— V
Figure I. Places with a Martin Luther King Street, produced by the East
Carolina University GIS Center, 2003, using data collected by Derek Alderman,
Matt Mitchelson.and Chris McPhilamy.
ICMA.org/pm.Public Management
•
^ly 2007
Figure
2:
MLK Street
Sign
in
Chapel
Hill,
North
Carolina.
new—until
the
full renaming takes
effect. More difficult
for
managers
is
addressing
the
deeper psychological
and social impact that comes with
the removal
and
replacing
of
ones
address.
Chapel Hill, North Carohna, offers
a potentially useful lesson
on how
to rename
a
road
for
King while
not
completely erasing
a
street's previous
identity.
In
2005, after intense public
opposition from residential
and
com-
mercial interests,
who
cited
a
strong
belief that
the
street's original name
was a key part
of
their heritage, the city
proceeded
to
rename Airport Road.
The Airport Road controversy
prompted Chapel Hill's city council
to
organize
a
special committee
to
study
the issue.
The
committee, composed
of
a
cross section
of
stakeholders,
including
but
not
limited
to
property
owners
on the
street, recommended
that Airport Road
be
renamed
but
charged
the
city
to
design
a
compro-
mise street sign {Figure
2).
The special signage used
in Cha-
pel Hill clearly indicates that Martin
Luther King
Jr.
Boulevard
is the
street's name, while
the
sign also
des-
ignates
it as
"Historic Airport Road."
Such
a
design
has the
advantage
of
minimizing initial confusion from
the name change, particularly
for
visitors
who
return after
the
change
is implemented. More important,
the
sign gives authority
and
visibility
to
the traditional historical identity
of
a
Street, even
as
local leaders
are
called
upon
to
commemorate
the
civil
rights movement.
The Chapel Hill case illustrates
how
our
streets
can be
used
to pre-
serve
the
memory
of
local landmarks
as well
as
serve
as a
"sign
of the
changing times." Other communities
might consider adopting such
a de-
sign,
not
only when asked
to
memo-
rialize King
but
when faced with
any
street renaming request.
Derek Alderman, Ph.D.,
is
associate
pro-
fessor. East Carolina University, Greenville,
North Carolina (aldermand@ecu.edu), and
Preston Mitchell
is
town manager, Nashville.
North Carolina (pv^m0809@>'ahoo.com).
_Sixtfi7^nnua[ Swimming Poorissiie
The December 2007 issue
of
PM magazine will continue
the
special section featuring swimming pools that
are
owned
and
operated
by
local governments.
If you serve
in a
community that provides
a
public pool
for
its citizens that
has not
already been featured
in the
maga-
zine—or
has
been updated since
it was
featured—and
if the
pool
is
distinctive
in
style, structure, operation, location, cost,
or other management aspect, share this information
in PM.
Send
a 250- to
500-word description telling
why the
pool
is distinctive
to
PM Editor. ICMA,
777 N.
Capitol Street,
N.E.,
Suite 500.Washington.
D.C.
20002-4201;
e-mail
is
preferred,
at
bpayne@icma.org. Electronic photo files
in
high-resolution
PDF
format
are
welcome.The deadline
for
submitting article copy
is
September 14,2007.
Searching
for
a
local
government job?
JobCenter
http://jobs.icma.org
The ICMA
JobCenter
can help.
*•*•** Public Management.
