Nicosia DLGO map of dangerous buildings features Turkish toponyms for occupied areas

The Nicosia District Local Government Organisation (DLGO) has released an online map identifying dangerous buildings across the district, compiled by its newly established Dangerous Buildings Sector. While the project involved thorough on-site inspections and categorizations, it has drawn attention for its mapping choice: community names in the free areas are displayed in Greek, whereas communities in the occupied northern part of Cyprus are labeled using Turkish toponyms.

The interactive map, titled the Active Registry of Dangerous Buildings of Nicosia District, references the Department of Lands and Surveys for its base layers. It is speculated that the discrepancy in language usage may stem from the integration of an existing digital map base that already utilized Turkish nomenclature for the northern territories. Philenews attempted to reach officials at the DLGO to clarify why these specific labels were used and whether any corrections are planned, but representatives were unavailable, likely due to the ongoing summer holiday period.

The DLGO’s initiative aims to improve public safety through rigorous monitoring of structural risks. The registry remains accessible to the public, allowing users to switch between satellite views and land registry parcel layers. Currently, there has been no official statement regarding the potential modification of the map labels to reflect Greek-only toponyms in the contested areas.