This project explores the transformation of Riga’s urban landscape through the renaming of its streets between 1990 and 2025. Street names are more than just labels for navigation — they are powerful symbols of political authority, cultural identity, and collective memory. In the decades following Latvia’s independence from the Soviet Union, Riga has undergone several waves of street renaming. These changes reflect broader societal shifts: the desire to reclaim national heritage, to distance the city from Soviet and Russian influence, and to recognize underrepresented voices, including women and local cultural figures.

The aim of this project is to document and analyze these renamings in a structured, spatial, and temporal way. By building a comprehensive dataset and mapping changes across time and neighborhoods, we make visible the strategies, triggers, and meanings behind each decision. The goal is not only to provide a record of what was changed, but also to ask why: What events or movements motivated these shifts? Who gets remembered in public space — and who is left out?

Through interactive maps, data visualizations, and historical context, this project invites researchers, educators, and the public to explore how Riga’s streets reflect its evolving identity in a changing world.

Our approach combines digital methods (geocoding, data visualization, semantic analysis) with humanitarian interpretation. This allows us not only to see the changes, but also to understand their deep cultural and political meaning. Renaming streets becomes a mirror of a society that is fighting for its memory, identity, and values.