Suburbs of Johannesburg

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A map of Johannesburg indicating regions and freeways.

The suburbs of Johannesburg are officially[

postal codes. The municipal functions for the area, such as municipal policing and social services, are still managed by the city government
.

Johannesburg, like many other

boom towns, grew rapidly and with little planning, and thus the city covers an extremely large area
. 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 near Ormonde, Johannesburg South.

The first major modern settlements in Johannesburg were loosely planned, as they grew up quickly in order to service the need for

labour in the gold mines on the Witwatersrand. 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's Soweto
.

The

street 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 the

automobile was introduced in mass production to South Africa.[1] Automobiles were, for the most part, confined to the wealthy, and permitted them to move to the north of the city and commute into the centre. The South African economy did extremely well at the end of World War II and 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 the National Party in the 1948 elections, who began to formalise the system known as apartheid. Apartheid formally designated which suburbs each race could live in under the Group 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 developed

freeways were built to link Johannesburg with the rest of South Africa, although this permitted the further outward expansion of the city along the N1, N3, and M2 roadways. Public transport construction was completely abandoned, except for a minor bus system.[2][3]

This system continued until the 1980s, when international sanctions and a poor security situation led to a large contraction in the economy. Many companies abandoned skyscrapers that 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 and

Yeoville became mostly black and dangerous within the space of two to three years.[6]

The

Centurion
is 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.[1]

Inner city

Marshalltown, as seen from the top of the Carlton Centre. The M1 and M2
run behind the buildings, and the southern suburbs extend past the highway boundary.

The

Newtown
as a cultural hub for the city.

Centred on the CBD, the region includes the suburbs of

Benrose
.

Around 800,000

minibus taxi
centre are all located in the inner city.

The suburbs close to the CBD, in particular

squatters
, 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 is

Lions in the Southern Hemisphere Super Rugby competition and the Golden Lions in the domestic Currie Cup. It was also a venue for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Johannesburg Stadium, a training ground for both the Golden Lions and Orlando Pirates
, is adjacent.

Eastern suburbs

The eastern suburbs of Johannesburg are located in the city's

R24 freeway (which connects Johannesburg to O. 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 the Eastgate Shopping Centre and the Greenstone shopping centre.

South-western suburbs and Soweto

Soweto and the south-western suburbs, located in

Region 10, border the city's mining belt 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 during apartheid
.

Soweto is 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 the City Council has enabled the planting of more trees and the improving of parks and green spaces in the area.[11]

Roodepoort
, but commuters are largely reliant on trains and taxis.

Northern suburbs

The northern suburbs, located in Regions

N1 Western Bypass
connects 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 are subdivided, or redeveloped, as townhouse and cluster house complexes.[17] The area is well connected to road networks, especially along the north-south axis formed by the M1 and N1. 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]

Houghton and Oaklands continue to the north of Westcliff. Nelson Mandela had a house in Houghton, and it is also the location of the most prestigious secondary schools in Johannesburg. Houghton is also the former electoral district of Helen Suzman, a famous anti-apartheid Member of Parliament
.

The suburbs become more commercial to the north of Houghton.

Sandton also 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. Greenside
is next to Parkhurst and has developed Parkhurst-style restaurants.

JSE Securities Exchange, Africa's largest stock exchange
, which relocated from the CBD in 2000.

The quality of life deteriorates on the outer fringes of the northern suburbs. One of the poorest

Sandton
.

North-western suburbs

The north-western suburbs, located in Regions A and B, exist between the northern suburbs,

N1 Western Bypass
.

Roodepoort is another major formerly independent municipality, recently incorporated into Johannesburg. Roodepoort's previously predominantly white population is changing as its proximity to Soweto
has 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-developed

Fourways
, in the south-east, is the major retail, office and entertainment area.

The first suburb to be grouped in the north-west is

South African Broadcasting Corporation, which is located in Radiopark, and two campuses of the sprawling University of Johannesburg
.

North of Auckland Park lies

Newtown
area in the city centre.

West of Melville is

Triomf, meaning "triumph" in Afrikaans
, 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 Regions

Johannesburg 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 the N1, with the N12
running 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 as

Orange Farm, which suffer from widespread poverty and unemployment
, 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 vacant

Rosettenville
.

Turffontein was the largest

concentration camp in Johannesburg during the Second Boer War. The camp was located where the Turffontein Racecourse is 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

  1. ^ City of Johannesburg.The seven regions. Archived 2008-02-25 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 20 February 2008.

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 Cemetery 26°16′21″S 28°01′27″E / 26.272406°S 28.024279°E / -26.272406; 28.024279

External links

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