Colombia
The urban addresses in the cities of Colombia are based on a numerical model, technically designed in a similar way to a Cartesian plane, with a grid (orthogonal) and metric layout in each block; where the central (urban) point is number 1, which represents the intersection between street 1 and street 1; Urban roads are basically classified with the names: Calle, Carrera, Diagonal, Transversal and Avenida (Avenida Calle and Avenida Carrera); It is an urban guidelines format, with characteristics: standard, understandable, functional, flexible and for general use in all urban populations in Colombia.
In most of the names of urban roads, they are located and classified in the same way and direction of orientation, from south to north and from east to west; but in few cities the concepts of streets for races, or races for streets, are reversed.
The roads are numbered consecutively, in some cases the number is complemented by the sequence of letters of the alphabet or the simple adjective bis, to indicate that it immediately follows the same number already used (example: Calle 1, Calle 2, Calle 3, Calle 3 Bis, Calle 4, Calle 4A, Calle 4B, Calle 4B Bis, Calle 4C, ..., Calle 5, ...).
The streets run parallel from south to north and the trajectory (line) of each street is from east to west and the races cross them; When the streets are located towards the south, after Street 1 (central area), they are complementary called South, however, the streets towards the north are not given any complement in their name; This applies in most cities, but in some towns the opposite applies; (example: …, Calle 3, Calle 2, Calle 1, Calle 1 Sur, Calle 2 Sur, Calle 3 Sur, …).
The races run parallel from east to west and the trajectory (line) of each race is from south to north; the races that are in the east direction, in most cases, are complemented with the name of the east cardinal point, when the races are located in the west, in most cases it is not represented in the name, but in some cities it is; (example: ..., Carrera 3 East, Carrera 2 East, Carrera 1 East, Carrera 1, Carrera 2, Carrera 3), in other cities the opposite applies (Carrera 3, Carrera 2, Carrera 1, Carrera 1 West, Carrera 2 West, Carrera 3 West).
In addition to the runs and streets, there are diagonals and transversals.
The diagonals run linearly from east to west, like the streets, but obliquely to the sequence of the streets and interspersed between them.
The transversals run linearly from south to north, like the races, but obliquely to the sequence of the races and interspersed between them.
The main roads are called Avenues; If it is a street it is called Avenida Calle, if it is a race it is called Avenida Carrera, with the street number (example: Avenida Carrera 68) and it is also usually called with a symbolic name (example: Avenida Rojas).
Each address is assigned: the type of road (street, race, diagonal, etc.), the road number (listed consecutively), in some cases, when there are additional roads to the main one, they are distinguished with letters (A, B, C, etc.) and in others, with the suffix 'Bis'.
The license plate of any property is made up of the intersection number and the number of the approximate distance in meters from it to the entrance to the property; This distance is determined in meters, which approximates an even number if the property is located on the east or north side of the road, or odd if it is on the west or south side (example: Calle 3 # 2-20 Medellín, this address indicates that the property is on Calle 3 and the plate # 2-20 determines that it is at the intersection of Carrera 2 at a distance of 20 meters, in the city of Medellín).
In the case of horizontal properties, they are complemented: with the number of the Interior, Block, Block or Tower; the number of the Apartment, Apartment, Premises, Office, Warehouse, or House; alternatively adding the name of the: neighborhood; town or commune; and the city.
Examples: 1) Calle 8 # 3-20, Cali, Valle del Cauca; 2) Carrera 30 Bis # 8-10, Medellín, Antioquia; 3) Avenida Carrera 25B Bis # 4-10 Sur, Barrio Diamante Dos, Bucaramanga, Santander; 4) Avenida Caracas # 3-20 Interior 23 Apartment 401, Bogotá, or Avenida Carrera 14 # 3-20 Interior 23 Apartment 401, Bogotá.
• - Road names should preferably be written in full, with the initial letter capitalized, or abbreviated with official nomenclature codes. Example: Race 29; official code: CR 29, KR 29; or informal abbreviated: Cr. 29, Cra. 29, Kr 29, K 29.
• - The letter that accompanies the road number in certain cases must be in capital letters, without spaces between the number and the letter. Example: Race 29A..
• - The complement "Bis" is written with the first letter in capital letters and the rest in lower case and must be separated from the number: Example: Carrera 29 Bis..
• - In case of a combination of street number, letter and Bis, they will always go in this order and following the previous rules. Example: Race 29A Bis..
• - The cardinal suffix is written with the first letter in capital letters and the entire word after the number, letter and Bis, if applicable. Example: Carrera 29 East, Carrera 29A Bis Este.
This nomenclature model originated in Bogotá (Colombia) in the year 1886;[4] during the century this city had four different nomenclature systems, the first was the colonial one that operated until 1849, the year in which the second was implemented under the leadership of Vicente Lombana, governor of the Province of Bogotá, the streets changed names according to the liberating feat, then Cara de Perro street was renamed Carrera. from Chiriquí (2nd Street), Calle del Arco changed to Carrera del Banco, despite the resistance of the citizens.
The third was only alive for a few weeks in 1876, this time as a proposal from the council to adapt the New York system; The New York model did not catch on among the citizens, so the previous nomenclature model was resumed, and finally in 1886 a nomenclature scheme was designed appropriate to the reality of the city: the streets from east to west, and the streets from south to north and numbered consecutively from east to west; The initial debate revolved around the place that should be the center point: initially they considered it to be the Plaza Mayor, finally they decided to make it the block furthest from the city in the eastern hills.
These changes in nomenclature transformed the mental map of the residents of Bogotá, which was accepted and appropriated by the citizens. However, it is important to note that it was an imposition of the elites that governed the city, it meant the destruction of urban landmarks, added to this it brought with it the transformation of the city experienced by the popular sectors, such as the replacement of small squares with parks, the transfer of market squares, such as Plaza Mayor to the Plaza de La Concepción, which implied the marginalization of these sectors.