Suburbs of Johannesburg

A map ofJohannesburgindicating regions and freeways.

Thesuburbs of Johannesburgare officiallydemarcated areas within theCity of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality,South Africa.As in otherCommonwealthcountries, the termsuburbrefers to a "neighbourhood", although in South Africa most (but not all) "suburbs" have legally recognised borders (seelegal definition of township) and often (but not always) separatepostal codes.The municipal functions for the area, such as municipal policing andsocial services,are still managed by thecity government.

Johannesburg, like many otherboom towns,grew rapidly and with little planning, and thus the city covers an extremely largearea.The main differences between the city's suburbs tend to be socioeconomic: The north is often associated with wealth due to areas such as Houghton, which boasts large properties and contained the residence of former president Nelson Mandela, and Sandton which has become an alternative business district and is referred to as "Africa's richest square mile".

History

A park nearOrmonde,Johannesburg South.

The first major modern settlements in Johannesburg were loosely planned, as they grew up quickly in order to service the need forlabourin thegoldmineson theWitwatersrand.However, the population of Johannesburg increased rapidly and the city quickly established formal neighbourhoods, most of which were racially mixed as labourers lived together. The earliest formal settlement to house people of all races,Kliptown,is located near today'sSoweto.

TheCentral Business District(CBD) grew rapidly in the early 20th century as many formal European style buildings were constructed, such as the city's mainpost office.The Central Business District was the first part of the city to be built in a grid, which was designed around the major road known asCommissioner Street,which served as the central artery for the city. During this time period, the city invested instreet cars,which mostly served to connect wealthier white suburbs with the CBD. Physical growth, although somewhat limited by transportation, continued quickly as immigration to South Africa, and Johannesburg in particular, increased dramatically.

This problem was solved in the 1930s when theautomobilewas introduced inmass productionto South Africa.^[1]Automobiles were, for the most part, confined to the wealthy, and permitted them to move to the north of the city andcommuteinto the centre. TheSouth African economydid extremely well at the end ofWorld War IIand many new immigrants came to South Africa from Europe. Most poor suburbs were mixed, with poor blacks and whites living together, although the wealthy suburbs were usually reserved for whites. This changed with the election of theNational Partyin the 1948 elections, who began to formalise the system known asapartheid.Apartheid formally designated which suburbs each race could live in under theGroup Areas Act.

Consequently, the city was divided into white and black suburbs. The white suburbs were mostly wealthy and well-developed, and located in the nicest areas in the Johannesburg region. Black South Africans lived in poorly developedtownshipsand suburbs out of view of the white suburbs. Many largefreewayswere built to link Johannesburg with the rest of South Africa, although this permitted the further outward expansion of the city along theN1,N3,andM2roadways. Public transport construction was completely abandoned, except for a minorbussystem.^[2][3]

This system continued until the 1980s, wheninternational sanctionsand a poor security situation led to a large contraction in the economy. Many companies abandonedskyscrapersthat had been built in the Central Business District (CBD) in the 1960s and 1970s, and left warehouses empty or little used.

When the Group Areas Act was repealed, there was a mass migration of former township dwellers andillegal immigrantsto buildings in the CBD and surrounding areas, which causedcrimerates to increase dramatically in the Central area of the city.^[4][5]Many businesses that had not closed their CBD offices left for more secured Northern suburbs, and in particular,Sandton.The amount of business and population of the northern suburbs increased exponentially, while the CBD was left empty and abandoned as a "no-go zone". The previous owners of buildings in the CBD abandoned them as their value decreased, and more illegal immigrants moved in. Many suburbs near the CBD also felt the demographic change as previously white and middle class suburbs likeYeovillebecame mostly black and dangerous within the space of two to three years.^[6]

Thecity governmenthas attempted to rectify this situation as of 2005 by installingCCTVcamerasall over the city centre, and increasingpolicepresence. Some businesses and residents have returned, although most businesses have built permanent and better facilities in the northern suburbs, so a large-scale return is unlikely.^[7]The city has grown so quickly to the north that the border between Johannesburg,Midrand,andCenturionis mostly an arbitrary political border, as the two cities have grown together so there is no space between them.

Regions

Main article:City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality § Regions

The city of Johannesburg is divided into seven regions for administrative purposes, lettered from A to G. The previous system of eleven numbered regions was reorganised in 2006.

Inner city

Marshalltown,as seen from the top of theCarlton Centre.TheM1andM2run behind the buildings, and the southern suburbs extend past the highway boundary.

Theinner city of Johannesburgis located within the city's Region F. The inner city is an extremely diverse region, with areas ranging from severely degradedresidentialareas such asBertrams,to the somewhat stablecommercialarea ofBraamfontein.The estimated population of the region is 200,000,but the number of people living in the inner city on an informal basis is unknown, as many are illegal immigrants.^[8]Most higher-income residents and white people have moved to the northern suburbs and have been replaced by lower-income black people. The unemployment, education, and age profiles of the area are all unknown, due to the difficulty of obtaining reliable information about the area. There have been significant movements to revitalise theCBD,most of which have focused on the reduction ofcrime,especiallystreet crimein the central area, and the redevelopment ofNewtownas a cultural hub for the city.

Centred on the CBD, the region includes the suburbs ofYeoville,Bellevue,Troyeville,Jeppestown,andBereato the east. To the west it spreads toPageviewandFordsburg.There are small industrial areas to the south, such asCity West-DenverandBenrose.

Around 800,000commuterspass through the inner city every day, and it functions as a regionalshoppingnode for visitors from the southern suburbs.^[9]All majorarterial roadsoriginate from the inner city and spread out into other parts of the city. Johannesburg's mainrailway station,bus terminal,andminibus taxicentre are all located in the inner city.

The suburbs close to the CBD, in particularJoubert Park,Hillbrow,andBerea,have a large number of high-rise apartment blocks. These areas were formerly extremely desirable; however, due to the increase in crime, the housing stock has greatly deteriorated as many wealthier residents have left for the northern suburbs. The existing buildings in the CBD area are insufficient to meet the current demands for housing in the area, and as a result, many under-utilised or abandoned office buildings have been taken over bysquatters,or converted into residential housing units. Yeoville and Bellevue have a mix of apartment buildings and single residential units on small lots.

The region is located on a mountainous divide that runs from east to west. The most conspicuous geographic feature isObservatory Ridge,which is named for the largeobservatorylocated on it.^[10]Therecreationalspaces are no longer used, due to security problems. The CBD area lacks open spaces; although there are small neighbourhood parks in all suburbs, they are also not used due tomuggingconcerns. Both theUniversity of the Witwatersrandand theUniversity of Johannesburgare located in the inner city. One of South Africa's leading sporting venues,Ellis Park Stadium,is located inDoornfontein.It serves as primary home of Jo'burg's two professionalrugby unionteams, theLionsin the Southern HemisphereSuper Rugbycompetition and theGolden Lionsin the domesticCurrie Cup.It was also a venue for the2010 FIFA World Cup.Johannesburg Stadium,a training ground for both the Golden Lions andOrlando Pirates,is adjacent.

Eastern suburbs

The eastern suburbs of Johannesburg are located in the city's7thand9thregions. The area is also functionally integrated withEast Randborder towns outside of the official boundary of Johannesburg, such asBedfordviewandEdenvale(both part ofEkurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality). The major freeways in the area are theN3 eastern bypass freeway(which connectsSandtonwithGermiston) and theR24 freeway(which connects Johannesburg toO. R. Tambo International Airport).

The eastern suburbs are some of the oldest areas of Johannesburg, there are large communities of Jewish and other European backgrounds, the majority of the population is English speaking. There are three golf courses as well as a number of protected ridges with viewsites.

There are several well-developed and up-market entertainment and shopping areas in the east such as theEastgate Shopping Centreand the Greenstone shopping centre.

South-western suburbs and Soweto

Soweto and the south-western suburbs, located inRegion 6andRegion 10,border the city'sminingbelt in the north. The area is mostly composed of old "matchbox" houses, or four-room houses built by the government, that were built to provide cheap accommodation for black workers duringapartheid.

Sowetois an abbreviation, standing for "South Western Townships". Street after street in this area is lined with matchboxes; however, there are a few smaller areas where prosperous Sowetans have built houses that are more similar in stature with those in more affluent suburbs. Many people who still live in matchbox houses have improved and expanded their homes, and theCity Councilhas enabled the planting of moretreesand the improving ofparksandgreen spacesin the area.^[11]

Hostelsare another prominent physical feature of Soweto.^[12][13]Originally built to house male migrant workers, many have been improved as dwellings for couples and families. TheN1 Western Bypassskirts the eastern boundary of Soweto. The suburb was not historically allowed to create employment centres within the area, so almost all of its residents are commuters to other parts of the city.^[14]There is efficient road access for many parts of the region along busy highways to the CBD andRoodepoort,but commuters are largely reliant on trains and taxis.

Northern suburbs

The northern suburbs, located in Regions2,3,4,and7,include the most wealthy and developed parts of the city.^[15]Spreading to the north from the inner city to the border withMidrand,the northern suburbs include both large housing developments and commercial centres. The northern suburbs benefited greatly from the deterioration of the CBD, as many people and businesses moved. The northern suburbs have developed along theM1andN1highways, which serve as their major arterial roads. TheN1 Western Bypassconnects the northern suburbs with the north-western suburbs.

The residential areas in the northern suburbs are mainly formal, with no significant areas of informal housing, or housing that lacks a permanent structure. Although this is an established area, there is a trend of land use change from residential to commercial, especially along main arterial roads and around established nodes.^[16]The area is also becoming more dense, as large residential properties aresubdivided,or redeveloped, astownhouseand cluster house complexes.^[17]The area is well connected to road networks, especially along the north-south axis formed by theM1andN1.Roads to the east and west are less well developed, as there are no freeways travelling in that direction.

Towards the northern border of the city, the density of development decreases, leaving large areas of undeveloped land around Midrand.^[18]Grand Central Airportis also located in the area. The first suburb to the north of the inner city isParktown,which is located on a hill overlooking the inner city and Hillbrow. It has many wealthy residents andEdwardian-stylemansions,as well as the Education and Medical campuses of theUniversity of the Witwatersrand.The large concreteCharlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospitaldominates the skyline of Parktown. There are numerous office parks in the suburb as well. Just to the west of Parktown isWestcliffand Parkwood, which is one of the wealthiest areas in Johannesburg, as it is located on the side of a very tall hill and overlooks the inner city as well as the northern suburbs. Other wealthy residential suburbs,Saxonwold,HoughtonandOaklandscontinue to the north of Westcliff.Nelson Mandelahad a house in Houghton, and it is also the location of the most prestigioussecondary schoolsin Johannesburg. Houghton is also the former electoral district ofHelen Suzman,a famous anti-apartheidMember of Parliament.

The suburbs become more commercial to the north of Houghton.Rosebankis the centre of high-endretailandshoppingfor northern suburb residents. Many smaller companies who cannot afford to be located inSandtonalso are located in Rosebank. The suburbs near Rosebank, including Parkhurst, Parktown North, Craighall Park and Greenside are collectively known as "The Parks". Parkhurst is known for its village atmosphere and pavement cafés and restaurants.Greensideis next to Parkhurst and has developed Parkhurst-style restaurants.

Hyde Park,Sandton, andMorningsideare all to the north of Rosebank, all of which are extremely wealthy and well policed. Sandton has become the new business area of Johannesburg, and features many corporate headquarters, as well asNelson Mandela SquareandWanderers Stadium,the most prestigiouscricket groundin South Africa. The skyline of Sandton has grown rapidly and there are many projects under development in the area. Sandton is also the location of theJSE Securities Exchange,Africa's largeststock exchange,which relocated from the CBD in 2000.

The quality of life deteriorates on the outer fringes of the northern suburbs. One of the pooresttownships,Alexandra,is located in this border area, to the east ofSandton.

North-western suburbs

The north-western suburbs, located in Regions A and B, exist between the northern suburbs,Soweto,and the inner city. They are mostly low-rise although there are fewskyscrapers.There are a few new developments in the recently incorporated city ofRandburg,which is a chief commercial node for the area. The area is also connected to the rest of the city by theN1 Western Bypass.

Roodepoortis another major formerly independent municipality, recently incorporated into Johannesburg. Roodepoort's previously predominantly white population is changing as its proximity toSowetohas made it attractive to middle-class black people who want to move to nicer houses while maintaining ties to their old communities. There is ample access from the more affluent northern residential areas to the inner city. However, links are poor towards high economic and commercial areas in the north, such as Randburg and Sandton. This gives rise to increasing numbers of secondary roads, creating congestion and putting pressure on residential areas and infrastructure.

Towards the extreme north-west of the city, there are well-developedfarms,as well as smaller formal and informal residential areas. There are also largemanufacturingand industrial nodes. The informal settlements in this area are growing rapidly, with 76 per cent of the population ofDiepslootliving in informal housing. The industrial areas alongMalibongwe Drivein the south-west form part of theKya Sandarea.Fourways,in the south-east, is the major retail, office and entertainment area.

The first suburb to be grouped in the north-west isAuckland Park.Auckland Park is home to the headquarters of theSouth African Broadcasting Corporation,which is located inRadiopark,and two campuses of the sprawlingUniversity of Johannesburg.

North of Auckland Park liesMelville,which has morphed into a Bohemian enclave ofrestaurants,cafés,andbookstoresbased chiefly around7th Avenue.This occurred mainly following the South African Broadcasting Corporation moving its headquarters to Auckland Park. Melville's main entertainment strip is 7th Road. A national serial drama,7de Laan,shows the strip in its opening credits, mistakenly referring to the road as 7th Avenue. In Melville, lanes run east to west while roads lie north to south. Melville borders on the north to the Melville Koppies, a small protected reserve. The chief road that cuts through Melville's business area,Beyers Naude Drive.Currently, Melville has faced decline as several businesses relocate back into the newly renovatedNewtownarea in the city centre.

West of Melville isWestdeneandSophiatown,once one of the most vibrant black suburbs in the city. Considered a criminal and political hotbed, the entire suburb was razed to the ground in the 1950s. A white suburb ofTriomf,meaning "triumph" inAfrikaans,was constructed in its place. The only remaining original Sophiatown building is the Anglican Church of Christ the King. The area has since reintroduced the use of its original name.

Southern suburbs

The southern suburbs, located in Regions9,10,and11,extend to the south of the inner city, and are somewhat isolated from the rest of Johannesburg. On a map, the southern suburbs appear to hang down from the border ofSowetoandJohannesburg South.It is about 40 kilometres south of the inner city. It is actually the most isolated, least integrated area of Johannesburg, with its east, west, and southern boundaries also forming Johannesburg proper's boundaries in the area. It is diagonally traversed by theN1,with theN12running along its northern border.

The southern suburbs tend to be either solely industrial or solely residential, with most residents in the residential areas being long-term residents in well-established communities. The majority of houses in these formal settlements are included in one of Johannesburg's lowest income brackets. At the extreme south end of the city, there are extremely large informal settlements, such asOrange Farm,which suffer from widespread poverty andunemployment,which are compounded by their isolation from the rest of the city, which in turn makes it costly to extend much-needed infrastructure from the more integrated suburbs.

A significant amount of underdeveloped and vacantagriculturalland is publicly owned, and the city government is currently in the process of selling large tracts of it for development, which is hoped to provide jobs for the residents of the informal settlements.Rand Stadium,the oldest football stadium in the city, is located in the southern suburb ofRosettenville.

Turffontein was the largestconcentration campin Johannesburg during theSecond Boer War.The camp was located where theTurffontein Racecourseis now, and held about 5,000 people. The 700 who died of that group are buried at the Suideroord Concentration Camp Cemetery which was on a farm called Klipriviersberg and which is now the suburb of Winchester Hills.^[19]The racecourse hosts the Summer Cup one of three major races in South Africa.

References

• Mail & Guardian Online: Blacks Making Waves.Accessed 24 July 2005.
• BBC News: Johannesburg Streets: Sibogiseni's Story.Accessed 22 July 2005.
• Student BMJ.Accessed 24 July 2005.
• Drive to regenerate decaying heart of Johannesburg.Accessed 12 July 2005.
• Johannesburg: Landlords clean up Hillbrow ghetto.Accessed 8 March 2005.
• Municipal Demarcation Board: Johannesburg.Accessed 24 July 2005.

Notes

1. ^SouthAfrica.info: Transport in Johannesburg
2. ^Address by Gauteng Public Transport, Roads, and Works MEC
3. ^City of Johannesburg: Bus Services
4. ^City of Johannesburg: Reshaping Johannesburg's inner city
5. ^Johannesburg, South Africa City Guide
6. ^Andrew Maykuth Online: Post-apartheid, downtown decays
7. ^South African Government Information: Address at the launch of the CCTV Anti-Crime Initiative
8. ^ICLEI: Addressing Poverty in Johannesburg, South Africa
9. ^Out of Home: Micro-loan for commuters
10. ^City of Johannesburg: Johannesburg Housing Company counts its success
11. ^Johannesburg Landmarks
12. ^City of Johannesburg: About Region 7
13. ^Wetlands: Revamping the Jukskei River
14. ^City of Johannesburg: Zooming in on the dirty water 'hotspots'
15. ^South African Government Information: ASMAL: Tree planting ceremony
16. ^City of Johannesburg: Development Projects
17. ^Why the townships turned into war zones
18. ^Encyclopædia Britannica's Guide to Black History: Soweto
19. ^Business Times: Trashing the northern suburbs to bring equality to the new SA
20. ^BootsnAll: Johannesburg, South Africa
21. ^safrica.info: We're living in an urban forest
22. ^Location of the Suideroord Concentration Camp Cemetery26°16′21″S28°01′27″E

External links

• Johannesburg on worldfacts.us
• A profile of Gauteng Province, in which Johannesburg is located
• BBC News: Life and death on the Golden Highway