Johannesburg
Neighborhoods
Central Johannesburg is laid out in a rectangular grid pattern with narrow streets dating back to the city's early history, although today they are lined with office towers that turn many of them into virtual canyons and have inspired the nickname "Africa's Manhattan." The central city today is primarily a business district devoted to the financial and mining industries and government. Located in this district are the Magistrates Court, the Gauteng Legislature, the public library and main post office, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, and the 50-story Carleton Centre with an observatory that affords an excellent view of the city. A variety of small shops and street traders provides a traditional atmosphere at odds with the city's skyscrapers. The New-town district just west of the city is home to a number of cultural institutions, including several museums. The northern neighborhood of Braamfontein is home to the University of the Witwatersrand.
When first built, each of Johannesburg's suburbs and townships was racially restricted under the apartheid system as spelled out in the Group Areas Act. The Group Areas Act was nullified in 1991, but Johannesburg's neighborhoods remain largely segregated racially, with most blacks living in townships close to the central city. The two most populous are Soweto, with a population of at least one-and-a-half million, and Alexandra, with about half a million. Living conditions in the townships range from middle-class enclaves to squatters' camps with no plumbing or electricity. Black migrant workers still live in hostels on the outskirts of the townships.
Most of the city's mixed-race population is clustered in townships west of the central city while the Indian population lives in the township of Lenasia. The inner-city suburbs of Joubert Park, Hillbrow, and Berea are formerly white areas that blacks began moving into when apartheid began to crumble in the 1980s and 1990s. Today they are mostly black and house many immigrants from other parts of Africa, especially the Congo and Nigeria. The suburbs of Yeoville and Observatory, formerly Jewish and Portuguese neighborhoods, are multiracial areas with a colorful street scene.
| City Fact Comparison | ||||
| Indicator | Johannesburg | Cairo | Rome | Beijing |
| (South Africa) | (Egypt) | (Italy) | (China) | |
| Population of urban area1 | 2,412,000 | 10,772,000 | 2,688,000 | 12,033,000 |
| Date the city was founded | 1886 | AD 969 | 753 BC | 723 BC |
| Daily costs to visit the city2 | ||||
| Hotel (single occupancy) | $64 | $193 | $172 | $129 |
| Meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner) | $34 | $56 | $59 | $62 |
| Incidentals (laundry, dry cleaning, etc.) | $9 | $14 | $15 | $16 |
| Total daily costs | $107 | $173 | $246 | $207 |
| Major Newspapers3 | ||||
| Number of newspapers serving the city | 11 | 13 | 20 | 11 |
| Largest newspaper | Sunday Times | Akhbar El Yom/Al Akhbar | La Repubblica | Renmin Ribao |
| Circulation of largest newspaper | 567,934 | 1,159,339 | 754,930 | 3,000,000 |
| Date largest newspaper was established | 1906 | 1944 | 1976 | 1948 |
| 1United Nations population estimates for the year 2000. | ||||
| 2The maximum amount the U.S. Government reimburses its employees for business travel. The lodging portion of the allowance is based on the cost for a single room at a moderately-priced hotel. The meal portion is based on the costs of an average breakfast, lunch, and dinner including taxes, service charges, and customary tips. Incidental travel expenses include such things as laundry and dry cleaning. | ||||
| 3David Maddux, ed. Editor&Publisher International Year Book. New York: The Editor&Publisher Company, 1999. | ||||
Johannesburg's western suburbs, including Briston and Melville, are home to middle-class whites while the northern suburbs, such as Parktown
