Toponymy, Space Commodification, and Local Identity, and Literacy Practices: A Study of Housing Names in Jatiasih, Bekasi

Abstrak

This study examines how housing naming practices (toponymy) in the Jatiasih area of Bekasi reflect the commodification of space, the construction of local identity, and the role of literacy practices in contemporary urban contexts. Housing names that adopt foreign, religious, and nature-related terms are linguistically significant because they function not only as locational markers but also as symbolic representations of marketing strategies, social class ideologies, and identity constructions interpreted by communities through different levels of literacy. Using a qualitative approach, this study applies a socio-toponymic and semiotic analytical framework. Data were collected through field observations and systematic documentation of housing names, and analyzed using categorical meaning analysis (Nyström), etymological analysis (Durkin), and Mosco’s political economy framework of spatial commodification to examine how linguistic forms operate as symbolic capital in the property market. This framework is strengthened by a literacy-oriented perspective highlighting how residents read, interpret, negotiate, and critically evaluate meanings embedded in housing names. The findings show that housing naming practices in Jatiasih predominantly commodify natural imagery, emotional values, and symbols of prestige, while simultaneously representing and obscuring local identity. Variations in literacy practices mediate public interpretation, ranging from passive aesthetic acceptance to critical awareness of market-driven representations of space. This study contributes to urban onomastics, sociolinguistics, and literacy studies, and offers insights for planners, developers, and communities in Indonesia.