User:Grutness/One street per 50,000 people

This is an essay.

It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints.

It is perfectly natural for Wikipedian editors to want to put articles onto Wikipedia relating to places local to where they live. In the process, however, many articles get written on roads and streets which - while of local importance - are of negligible interest in a global sense and may not be truly suitable for Wikipedia.

Notability is a watchword used by many people when they decide whether an article is worth keeping or not via Wikipedia:Articles for deletion. Many articles on small urban roads and streets are nominated for deletion every week due to their limited notability.

Notable streets and roads can be divided into two types: those which are inherently notable due to some specific historical, geographical, or other quirk, and those which are notable simply by way of their prominence within a city or town.

The first type of street is usually notable enough for an article in its own right. The problem occurs with the second type of road or street. Even though Wikipedia is not paper, there is little point in Wikipedia having articles on every tiny street on the planet. As such, it is worth considering a rule of thumb when it comes to deciding whether a street is notable enough to write about: The "50,000 people per street" rule of thumb.

For every 50,000 people in a city or town, there is probably one road or street prominent enough for a Wikipedia article.

Consider the city or town in which the street you wish to write about is located. If the city has a population of a million, there are probably 20 streets which deserve an article. If the city has a population of 100,000, the top two streets are probably worthy enough. For towns of under 50,000 people, it is probably better to mention the main street or streets in the article about the town, rather than having separate articles. How does the street you wish to write about rate? Is it prominent enough locally to be notable enough for Wikipedia?

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