Nationalistic Narratives in the Streetscape

Chapter 7 investigates the struggles for monopolizing the capital’s urban space and consequent politicization of street-names in the period between World War I and 1952. The politicization of street-names due to the sharing of power at the intra-community and bicommunal level in Nicosia led to a struggle for the division of space, transforming the streets into sites of political contestation. During the period in question, street-naming was used by political actors for the purpose of achieving their political outcomes, especially in terms of increasing their popularity among the masses. Eleftherios Venizelos Square is a notable example that this chapter delves into. In several cases in this conflict, memory was employed and manipulated in order to become embedded in the streetscape, serving and reinforcing the interests of the political elites. Particular attention is given in this chapter to the period following the imposition of authoritarian imperialist rule in 1931, when the process of street-naming came under strict British scrutiny and control.