house numbering
Enable an agent to recognise a house-numbering arrangement, assess whether its assignments identify premises unambiguously, and determine which numbering or display changes require validation or authority.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
6 bundles · 11 layers · 18 findings · 28 questions
Numbered referents Establishes what receives a house number and the context that gives the designation meaning.
Reference context
Identifies the street, block or other context within which assignments are interpreted.
Number and context
Record the designation together with the contextual identifiers needed to distinguish its intended location.
- Within which street, block, settlement or other reference context is this house number assigned? definition
- What additional context is required when the same designation occurs in more than one nearby location? boundary
Assignment target
Separates the addressed object from neighbouring buildings, parcels and internal units.
Premises and entrance mapping
Record whether the number identifies a building, plot, premises, entrance or group, including shared and multiple assignments.
- What precisely receives this number, and which evidence establishes that referent? definition
- Do multiple entrances share this number, or does the same premises have separately assigned numbers? boundary
Allocation logic Describes the local rules that generate and constrain house-number assignments.
Spatial progression
Captures how numbering relates to direction, street sides, blocks or distance.
Sequence and side rule
Record the allocation method, starting reference, progression and any side-specific rules, distinguishing documented rules from inferred patterns.
- Which documented rule determines the order and side allocation of numbers in this context? provenance
- Which observed assignments depart from that rule, and are those departures documented exceptions? measurement
Infill and compound designations
Addresses suffixes, gaps, ranges and other provisions for additional or grouped premises.
Designation extension
Record the local meaning and permitted use of suffixes, reserved numbers and ranges without assuming that punctuation has a universal meaning.
- How does this scheme allocate a number when premises are inserted between existing assignments? action
- Does a compound designation denote one assigned label, a range of premises, multiple entrances or internal units? boundary
Assignment authority and change Connects numbering decisions to responsible authorities and tracks their effective history.
Assignment evidence
Identifies the source and standing of a proposed or recorded number.
Authorised number
Record the assigning authority, supporting decision or register, and whether the assignment is verified, proposed or contested.
- Which authority or authorised process assigned this number, and what record supports that attribution? provenance
- Who may approve a new assignment or correct this assignment under the applicable local process? action
Renumbering history
Preserves temporal relationships between former and current designations.
Number transition
Record effective dates and predecessor-successor relationships when renumbering, subdivision or merger changes assignments.
- When did each former and current assignment take effect or cease to apply? provenance
- Does an old number map to one current referent or require further disambiguation after a subdivision or merger? boundary
Number representation and display Connects the assigned designation to its recorded and physical forms.
Designation fidelity
Preserves the assigned expression while distinguishing accepted variants from different numbers.
Canonical and observed forms
Record the authoritative form and observed variants, with explicit evidence for any equivalence used in matching.
- Which characters, separators, script choices or leading zeros are significant in the assigned designation? definition
- Which transformations are documented as preserving identity, and which could collapse distinct house numbers? boundary
On-site identification
Assesses whether physical displays identify the intended premises or entrance.
Display-to-referent agreement
Record the displayed designation, its placement, observation conditions and agreement with the assigned referent.
- From which approach can the number be read, and is its association with the intended entrance clear? measurement
- What correction is appropriate when the display is missing, misleading or inconsistent with the verified assignment? action
Resolution and consistency Assesses whether numbering supports dependable identification across records and physical locations.
Ambiguity detection
Identifies collisions and apparent gaps without treating every irregularity as an error.
Collision and gap assessment
Evaluate repeated or absent designations against the declared reference context, allocation rules and known shared assignments.
- How many current referents match this number within its reference context, and what distinguishes them? measurement
- Is an apparent gap an unassigned number, a reservation, a retired assignment or an expected consequence of the scheme? boundary
Record reconciliation
Compares assignment evidence with address datasets and observed premises.
Number-location consistency
Record discrepancies among authoritative assignments, digital location records and site observations, retaining source dates and unresolved conflicts.
- Which records and observations support the number-to-premises mapping, and when were they current? provenance
- What evidence or authority is needed to resolve conflicting numbers or entrance locations before changing a record? action
Evidence and external alignment What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.
Reported evidence
Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.
Check these first
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these check these first hold for the sense of house numbering this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Kinds and varieties
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of house numbering this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Identifiers and schemes
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these identifiers and schemes hold for the sense of house numbering this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Standards and regulation
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these standards and regulation hold for the sense of house numbering this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Real-world use
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of house numbering this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Failure modes and hazards
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of house numbering this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Regional variation
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of house numbering this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of house numbering this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Information and virtual systems
- Entry kind
- thing
- Plane
- INF
- Domain
- INF.MED
What it is Filled
House numbering is the assignment of numeric or alphanumeric address designators to buildings, entrances or premises within a defined street or locality addressing system so that they can be distinguished and located.
In scope
- Numbering schemes and their street, block, settlement or other reference contexts
- Assignment of numbers, suffixes and number ranges to buildings, premises, plots or entrances
- Sequence, side allocation, direction and provisions for infill
- Physical display and digital representation of house numbers
- Assignment authority, exceptions, renumbering and historical aliases
- Ambiguity and consistency checks for locating numbered premises
Out of scope
- Street naming and administration of the complete address
- Internal apartment, floor and room numbering except where needed to distinguish it from a house number
- Cadastral parcel identification, ownership and property boundaries
- Postal codes, delivery districts and postal routing
- General navigation, route planning and emergency dispatch operations
- Design and manufacture of number plates beyond their identification function
Why it exists Filled
Enable an agent to recognise a house-numbering arrangement, assess whether its assignments identify premises unambiguously, and determine which numbering or display changes require validation or authority.
Distinguishing features Filled
- A house number identifies premises within an addressing context; the same numeral alone need not identify a unique location.
- An assigned house number can exist without a physical number plate, and a displayed numeral is not sufficient evidence of an authorised assignment.
- The numbered referent may be an entrance, premises, building or plot; it must not automatically be equated with a cadastral parcel.
- Numbering order can follow a declared local rule rather than a universally increasing, odd-even street sequence.
- A number or suffix belongs here when it participates in premises addressing; a room label, parcel identifier or building asset code with similar characters may belong elsewhere.
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- Assign or change house numbers without the competent authority.
- Combine addresses with other data to profile or track residents.
- Publish a person's home address without consent or a legal basis.
Only with a human decision
- Correcting an official address record.
- Directing emergency services when an address is ambiguous.
May
- Explain how a house numbering system works in a stated locality.
- Check an address against the official address register.
Moral aspects Filled
- Clear addresses help emergency services reach people quickly.
- Informal settlements without numbers leave residents without services.
Who is affected
- Residents
- Emergency services
- Postal and delivery workers
Owners Filled
Steward
The municipal or addressing authority that assigns numbers.
Master systems
- Official address registers
- Cadastre or land registry
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- Q853614 - registry parent class
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.house-numbering
- Wikidata: Q125246381 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q125246381)
Direct properties not applicable Not applicable
- Numbering reference context: Named street, block, settlement, zone or other explicitly identified context
- Numbered referent: Building, premises, entrance, plot, grouped premises, locally defined referent or unresolved
- Assigned designation: Exact locally assigned expression, preserving letters, separators, leading zeros and script where significant
- Allocation rule: Sequential, side-separated, block-based, distance-based, locally specified, mixed or unknown
- Sequence origin and direction: Declared starting reference and progression along the numbering context, or unspecified
- Assignment standing: Proposed, approved but not effective, current, retired, disputed or unverified
- Responsible authority: Authority responsible for the assignment, with evidence of its role, or unknown
- Display condition: Present and readable, obscured, missing, conflicting, uninspected or not applicable
- Assignment multiplicity: Count of current referents associated with the same designation within the declared reference context
Plane INF: no invented physical properties.
Recognition optional Filled
- Numbers or alphanumeric codes on plaques, doors, gates or walls of buildings.
- Often follow odd and even sides of a street.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- Resolve a house number and its reference context to candidate premises or entrances while preserving ambiguity.
- Check assignments against documented sequence, side, suffix and uniqueness rules.
- Compare authorised assignments with displayed numbers and digital address records.
- Assess numbering options for infill, subdivision or merged premises under the applicable local rules.
- Prepare an evidence-backed assignment or renumbering proposal for the responsible authority.
- Trace former numbers to current assignments without treating historical aliases as current designations.
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Duplicate or missing numbers delay emergency response.
- Renumbering causes mail and service errors.
Standards and interfaces required Filled
- ISO 19160-1 Addressing, Conceptual model, International Organization for Standardization.
- UPU S42 International postal address components and templates, Universal Postal Union.
Context of use required Filled
- House numbering distinguishes buildings, entrances or premises within a street or locality so that people and services can locate them.
- It supports postal delivery, emergency response, utility records, navigation and public administration.
- Assignments are encountered on address plates, maps and official address registers, with local rules determining sequences and exceptions.
Sources Filled
- Wikidata item Q125246381: house numbering - identity and sense of the item
- Wikipedia: House numbering - general description of the item
Open questions
- Which jurisdiction-specific sources should establish the permitted numbering schemes and assignment procedures for the intended deployment?
- Should this registry entry include plot and block-based premises numbering under house numbering, or link some arrangements to a broader premises-addressing model?
- Which local conventions determine whether suffixes, fractions and ranges are house-number components or internal-unit identifiers?
- What evidence should resolve conflicts when an assignment register, postal record and physical display disagree?
- Which local requirements govern number visibility, display placement and the transition period after renumbering?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q125246381/spec.json