[OSM-talk] How to tag a Spanish-style central plaza?

[Lars Aronsson]

Mike Collinson wrote:

> In Mexican Spanish it is el zócalo.  A central 
> square or plaza in the centre of a town or 
> village generally laid out with paved walkways 
> and flower beds and is an important part of social life.
> 
> The English words "square", "plaza"  or "park" 
> may be too vague.  I want something that implies 
> "this is the formal centre of 
> town".  leisure=zocalo would be perfect but probably too colloquial.

In trying to understand the concept, I looked
at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z%C3%B3calo
If there are many squares/plazas in a city, what makes one of them 
the "official" zócalo?  Do maps usually indicate this status?

I can think of many "main" squares, streets and railway stations 
that are de facto the biggest and most central in town, but I 
cannot think of any that have any official status due to this.
German maps and street signs use the abbreviation Hbf for 
Hauptbahnhof = Main railroad station, but this is more of an 
abbreviation of the name, similar to using W. for west.

Of course a cathedral has an official status above other church 
buildings (belonging to the same denomination), city hall has an 
official status above other public buildings, and the main public 
library has an official status above its smaller branches, but 
this status is seldom or never indicated on maps.


-- 
  Lars Aronsson (lars at aronsson.se)
  Aronsson Datateknik - http://aronsson.se