Johannesburg

History

where gold was first discovered in 1886.]] .]] :''Main article: History of Johannesburg'' The region surrounding Johannesburg has been inhabited for millions of years. One of the oldest human skeletons ever found was discovered in a cave in Sterkfontein, to the northwest of Johannesburg in 1998. The skeleton, nicknamed Mrs Ples, is one of the few examples of ''Australopithecus africanus'' ever found, and is believed to be approximately 3.5 million years old. Around 100,000 years ago, the Johannesburg region was inhabited by the nomadic Bushmen people. The Bushmen lived in the area until the Bantu language|Bantu-speaking people Bantu expansion|migrated into the area around the year AD 1060. The Bantu people were Iron Age people who domesticated animals, farmed agriculture|crops, worked metal, made pottery, and lived in organised villages. The region remained inhabited by both the Bushmen and the Bantu people. When Europeans arrived in the area, small numbers of Boers started farms, but there was no major European settlement until the 1880s, when gold was discovered in the region, triggering a Witwatersrand Gold Rush|gold rush. Gold was initially discovered slightly to the east of present-day Johannesburg, in Barberton, South Africa|Barberton. Prospector|Gold prospectors soon discovered that there were even richer gold reefs in the Witwatersrand. The town was initially much the same as any small prospecting settlement, but as word spread, people flocked to the area from all other regions of the country as well as from North America, the United Kingdom, and the rest of Europe. As the value of control of the land increased, tensions developed between the Afrikaners, who controlled the region during the nineteenth century, and the United Kingdom|British, culminating in the Boer War|Second Anglo-Boer War. The Boers lost the war and control of the area was ceded to the British. When the Union of South Africa was declared in 1910, this paved the way for a more organised mining structure. The South African government instituted a harsh racial system whereby blacks and Indians were heavily taxed, barred from holding skilled jobs, and consequently forced to work as migrant labour on Johannesburg's growing crop of gold mines. The South African government then instituted a Group Areas Act|system of forced removals, moving the population of non-European descent into specified areas. It is this system that created the sprawling shantytown of Soweto ('''So'''uth '''We'''stern '''To'''wnships), one of the areas where blacks were forced to live during the apartheid era. Nelson Mandela spent many years living in Soweto and his Soweto home in Orlando is currently a major tourist attraction. Large-scale violence broke out in 1976 when the Soweto Students' Representative Council organised protests against the use of Afrikaans, considered to be the language of the oppressors, in black schools. Police shot into a student march, and 1000 people died in the following 12 months protesting the apartheid system. One of the most famous victims of the massacre, Hector Pieterson, is commemorated with a large Hector Pieterson Museum|Museum dedicated in his honour in Soweto. The regulations of apartheid were abandoned in February 1990, and since the 1994 elections, Johannesburg has, in theory, been free of discriminatory laws. The black township (South Africa)|townships have been integrated into the municipal government system, and to some extent, the suburbs have become multiracial. However, there has been a large-scale migration of businesses and commerce away from the Central Business District and southern suburbs in favour of the northern suburbs. This was fueled by perceptions of a rise in the crime rate, serious traffic congestion and inadequate public transport, and a more favourable tax environment for landlords in the northern suburbs prior to the integration of the city.

Government

:''Main articles: Government of Johannesburg and Regions of Johannesburg'' During the apartheid era, Johannesburg was divided into 11 local authorities, seven of which were white and four black or Coloured. The white authorities were 90 percent self-sufficient from property tax and other local taxes, and spent South African Rand|Rand 600 (USD $93) per person, while the black authorities were only ten percent self-sufficient, spending Rand 100 (USD $15) per person. The first post-apartheid Johannesburg City Council|City Council was created in 1995. The council adopted the slogan "One City, One Taxpayer" in order to highlight its primary goal of addressing unequal tax revenue distribution. To this end, revenue from wealthy, traditionally white areas would help pay for services needed in poorer, black areas. The City Council is now divided into four regions, each with a autonomous region|substantially autonomous local regional authority that was to be overseen by a central metropolitan council. Furthermore, the municipal boundaries were expanded to include wealthy satellite towns like Sandton and Randburg, poorer neighbouring townships such as Soweto and Alexandra, South Africa|Alexandra, and informal settlements like Orange Farm. In 1999, Johannesburg appointed a city manager in order to reshape the city's ailing financial situation. The manager, together with the Municipal Council, drew up a blueprint called "Igoli 2002". This was a three-year plan that called upon the government to sell non-core assets, restructure certain utilities, and required that all others become self-sufficient. The plan took the city from near insolvency to an operating surplus of Rand 153 million (USD 23.6 million).

Crime

Johannesburg suffers considerably from crime. Crime has risen significantly since the end of Apartheid circa 1994. Currently Johannesburg is considered to have some of the worst crime rates in the world, albeit like in other global cities, crime levels are contained depending on what parts of the city you are in, and what precautions you take. After the Group Areas Act was scrapped in the early 1990s, Johannesburg was affected by urban blight. Thousands of poor, mostly black, people who had been forbidden to live in the city proper, moved into the city from surrounding black townships such as Soweto. Crime levels in formerly white areas rose. Many buildings were abandoned by landlords, especially in the high-density areas such as Hillbrow. Many corporations and institutions, including the JSE Securities Exchange, moved their headquarters away from the city centre, to suburbs such as Sandton. Reviving the city centre is one of the main aims of the municipal government of Johannesburg. Drastic measures have been taken to reduce crime in the city. These measures include closed-circuit television on street corners. The latest police statistics show that crime levels in Johannesburg have dropped as the economy has stabilised and begun to grow.

Geography and climate

Johannesburg is located in the eastern plateau area of South Africa, known as the Highveld, at an elevation of 1753 metres. The city enjoys a dry, sunny climate with the exception of occasional late afternoon downpours from the months of October to April. Temperatures in Johannesburg are usually fairly mild, with the average maximum daytime temperature in summer of around 27Celsius|°C, dropping to an average maximum of around 20°C in winter. During the winter, the temperature occasionally drops to below freezing, causing frost. The annual average rainfall is 600 mm to 800 mm, which is mostly concentrated in the summer months. Johannesburg's relatively dry climate has not stopped local residents and the city council from planting an abundance of trees, and the city prides itself on having the most planted trees of any city, or about six million, which has created a forest-like appearance, especially in the lush northern suburbs.

Demographics

According to the 2001 Statistics South Africa|South African National Census, the population of Johannesburg is 3,225,812 people, who live in 1,006,930 formal households, of which 86 percent have a flush or chemical toilet, and 91 percent have refuse removed by the municipality at least once a week. 86 percent of households have access to running water, and 80 percent use electricity as the main source of energy. 22 percent of Johannesburg residents stay in informal dwellings. 65 percent of households are headed by one person. Black Africans account for 73 percent of the population, followed by whites at 16 percent, coloured|Coloured South Africans at 6 percent and Asians at 4 percent. 42 percent of the population is under the age of 24, while 6 percent of the population is over 60 years old. 37 percent of city residents are unemployed. 91 percent of the unemployed are black. Women comprise 43 percent of the working population. 19 percent of economically active adults work in wholesale and retail sectors, 18 percent in financial, real estate and business services, 17 percent in community, social and personal services and 12 percent are in manufacturing. Only 0.7 percent work in mining. 34 percent of Johannesburg residents speak Nguni languages at home, 26 percent speak Sotho languages, 19 percent speak English language|English, and 8 percent speak Afrikaans. 29 percent of adults have graduated from high school. 14 percent have higher education (University or Technical school). 7 percent of residents are completely illiterate. 15 percent have primary education. 34 percent use public transportation to commuting|commute to work or school. 32 percent walk to work or school. 34 percent use private transportation to travel to work or school. 53 percent belong to mainstream Christianity|Christian churches. 24 percent are atheist. 14 percent are members of African Independent Churches. 3 percent are Islam|Muslim. 1 percent are Judaism|Jewish. 1 percent are Hinduism|Hindu.

Economy

as seen from the observatory of the Carlton Centre.]] Johannesburg is the economic and financial hub of South Africa, producing 16 percent of South Africa's gross domestic product, and accounts for 40 percent of Gauteng's economic activity. Mining is the foundation of the Witwatersrand's economy, but its importance is gradually declining. While gold mining no longer takes place within the city limits, most mining companies have their headquarters in Johannesburg. The city has a great variety of manufacturing industries, including steel and cement plants. Many banking and commercial companies are also located in Johannesburg. Johannesburg has Africa's largest stock exchange, the JSE Securities Exchange. Due to its commercial importance, this city is the site of a number of government branch offices, as well as consular offices and other institutions that are usually found only in capital cities. The Witwatersrand urban complex is a major consumer of water in a dry region. Its continued economic and population growth has depended on schemes to divert water from other regions of South Africa and from the highlands of Lesotho, but additional sources will be needed early in the 21st century. The container terminal at City Deep is purported to be the largest "dry port" in the world, with some 60 percent of cargo that arrives through the port of Durban arriving in Johannesburg. The City Deep area has been declared an IDZ (industrial development zone) by the Gauteng government, as part of the Blue IQ Project. Johannesburg's largest and most prestigious shopping centres are Sandton City and Hyde Park Corner (Shopping Centre)|Hyde Park. Other centres include Eastgate Shopping Centre|Eastgate, Westgate Shopping Centre|Westgate, Northgate Shopping Centre, Johannesburg|Northgate, Southgate Shopping Centre|Southgate, and Cresta Shopping Centre|Cresta. There are also plans to build an extremely large shopping centre, known as the Zonk'Izizwe Shopping Resort, in Midrand. "Zonk'Izizwe" means "All Nations" in isiZulu, indicating that the centre will cater to the city's diverse mix of peoples and races. Johanesburg, since the end of apartheid, is known for its large crime rate, especially in the downtown. It is the most dangerous city in the world, as well the one with highest murder, robbing and rape rates.

Communications and media

Several newspapers and magazines have their offices in the city, as it is the transport and telecommunications centre for the city. ''Beeld'' is the leading Afrikaans newspaper for the city and the country, while the ''City Press'' is a Sunday newspaper that is mostly aimed at black readers. It is the third largest selling newspaper in South Africa. ''The Sowetan'' is a major newspaper that is published in Soweto. It is mostly aimed at black people living in township (South Africa)|townships. The ''Mail & Guardian'' is the leading investigative newspaper in the country. ''The Citizen (newspaper, South Africa)|The Citizen'' is a tabloid-style paper, and ''The Star (Newspaper)|The Star'' is a local newspaper that mostly covers Gauteng-related issues. The ''Sunday Times'' is the leading investigative Sunday newspaper. Johannesburg is also a centre for broadcast media, with such radio stations as YFM, 702, 94.7 Highveld Stereo|Highveld Stereo and 5FM situated in the city. Johannesburg is also the headquarters of the South African Broadcasting Corporation, as well as M-Net and Etv (South Africa)|eTV. The city has two TV towers, the Hillbrow Tower and the Sentech Tower.

Suburbs

.]] :''Main article: Suburbs of Johannesburg'' The different suburbs of Johannesburg are generally categorised by compass direction, as different areas of the city have greatly different personalities. Since Johannesburg is such a large city, there is great variety in the suburbs that comprise it. While the Central Business District (Johannesburg)|Central Business District and the surrounding areas were formerly highly desired wealthy areas, they have lost their former reputation after migrants took over abandoned buildings, and the crime level rose accordingly. The suburbs to the south of the city are mainly lower-class residential suburbs along with some Township (South Africa)|townships, although most suburbs in the South tend to be extremely large and undistinguished. The northern and northwestern suburbs have become the centre for the wealthy, containing the high-end retail shops and well as several upper-class residential areas including Houghton, South Africa|Houghton, where Nelson Mandela makes his home. The northwestern area in particular is vibrant and lively, with the mostly-black suburb of Sophiatown, Gauteng|Sophiatown a hotbed of political activity and the Bohemian-flavoured Melville, Gauteng|Melville featuring lively gathering places and nightlife. Auckland Park is home to the headquarters of the South African Broadcasting Corporation and the University of Johannesburg. To the southwest of the City Centre is Soweto, a mostly black urban area constructed during the apartheid regime specifically for housing African people who were then living in areas designated by the government for white settlement. Today, Soweto is among the poorest parts of Johannesburg. The eastern suburbs include Yeoville, Gauteng|Yeoville, a hot spot for black nightlife despite its otherwise poor reputation, and several residential areas that are slowly gaining respectability.

Tourism

located on the grounds of Gold Reef City.]] Johannesburg is not generally known as a tourist destination, but the city is a transit point for connecting flights to Cape Town, Durban, and the Kruger National Park, and does host touristic attractions in and around the city, and is geographically close to rural game lodges and similar tourist attractions. Consequently, most international visitors to South Africa pass through Johannesburg at least once, which has led to the development of more attractions for tourists. Recent additions have centred around History of South Africa|history museums, such as the Apartheid Museum and the Hector Pieterson Museum. Gold Reef City, a large amusement park to the south of the Central Business District, is also a large draw for tourists in the city. The Johannesburg Zoo is also one of the largest in South Africa. Because Johannesburg is the economic and business hub of South Africa, it remains quite tourist friendly aside from issues such as crime. It features a variety of world-class hotels, shops, malls, restaurants and casinos, as well as safe drinking water, adequately maintained roads and infrastructure on par with other major global cities. English is spoken everywhere as a primary language. The city also has several art museums, such as the Johannesburg Art Gallery, which featured South African and European landscape and figurative paintings. The Museum Africa covers the history of the city of Johannesburg, as well as housing a large collection of rock art. The MarketTheatre complex attained notoriety in the 1970s and 1980s by staging anti-apartheid plays, and has now become a centre for modern South African playwriting. There is also a large industry around visiting former township (South Africa)|townships, such as Soweto and Alexandra, South Africa|Alexandra. Most visitors to Soweto go to see the Mandela Museum, which is located in the former home of Nelson Mandela. The http://www.cradleofhumankind.co.zaUNESCO World Heritage Site is 25 kilometres to the northwest of the city. The Sterkfontein fossil site is famous for being the world's richest hominid site and produced the first adult ''Australopithecus africanus'' and the first near-complete skeleton of an early ''Australopithecine''.

Sports teams and stadiums

Johannesburg’s favourite sports are football (soccer)|football, running, rugby union|rugby, and cricket. , the host of the 1995 Rugby World Cup.]] Johannesburg is the home of the Golden Lions Rugby Union|'''''Golden Lions''''', who play at Ellis Park Stadium and compete in the Currie Cup. The Cats (rugby club)|'''''Cats''''' represent Johannesburg, North West Province and Mpumalanga Province|Mpumalanga in the Southern Hemisphere's Super 14 Rugby Competition, which boasts teams from '''South Africa''', '''Australia''' and '''New Zealand'''. Early each Sunday morning, tens of thousands of runners gather to take part in informal runs organised by several athletic clubs. People from Johannesburg are football mad and football club|clubs from Johannesburg either play in the Premier Soccer League (PSL) or the SAFA First Division|First Division. In the PSL, the top Johannesburg teams are all fierce rivals and include Kaizer Chiefs Football Club|Kaizer Chiefs (also known as the ''Amakhozi''), Orlando Pirates Football Club|Orlando Pirates (also known as the ''Buccaneers'') and Moroka Swallows Football Club|Moroka Swallows, based at the city's Johannesburg Stadium|Johannesburg, Rand Stadium|Rand, and FNB Stadium|FNB stadiums respectively. First Division teams include Katlehong City and Alexander United, who play at Alexander Stadium|Alexander and Reiger Park Stadium|Reiger Park stadiums respectively, and Wits University Football Club|Wits University, nicknamed the ''Clever Boys'', who have a player membership of over 1,500, one of the world's largest. In cricket, the Highveld Lions represent Johannesburg, the rest of Gauteng as well as the North West Province at the Wanderers Stadium. They take part in the Supersport Series|Supersport and Standard Bank Cup Series. Johannesburg will also be the location of several of the matches of the Football World Cup 2010|FIFA 2010 World Cup, which is to be held in South Africa.

Transport

Johannesburg, much like Los Angeles, is a young and sprawling city geared towards private motorists, and lacks a convenient public transportation system. However, as many of Johannesburg's residents are comparatively poor when compared to those of Los Angeles, a significant number are unable to afford their own cars and are dependent on the city's informal minibus taxis. ;Mass transit during rush hour as it passes through Sandton.]] offloading passengers.]] indicating the exit for Johannesburg. The M1 is one of the busiest highways in Johannesburg.]] Johannesburg's metro railway system connects central Johannesburg to Soweto, Pretoria, and most of the satellite towns along the Witwatersrand. The railways transport huge numbers of workers every day. However, the railway infrastructure was built in Johannesburg's infancy and covers only the older areas in the city's south. In the past half century Johannesburg has grown largely northwards, and none of the northern areas, including the key business districts of Sandton, Midrand, Randburg, and Rosebank, have any rail infrastructure. The Gauteng Provincial Government's Blue IQ Project, Gautrain, however, has made provisions for the creation of a rapid railway|rail link, running north to south, between Johannesburg and Pretoria, and east-west between Sandton and Johannesburg International Airport. Slated to be ready in time for the Football World Cup 2010|2010 Football World Cup, the rail system is being designed to alleviate traffic on the N1 (South Africa)|N1 freeway between Johannesburg and Pretoria, which records vehicle loads of up to 160,000 per day. ;Airports Johannesburg is served by Johannesburg International Airport for both domestic and international flights. Other airports include Rand Airport, Grand Central Airport, and Lanseria Airport|Lanseria. Rand Airport, located in Germiston, South Africa|Germiston, is a small airfield used mostly for private aircraft and the home of South African Airways's first Boeing 747|Boeing 747 Classic, the Lebombo, which is now an aviation museum. Grand Central is located in Midrand and also caters to small, private aircraft. Lanseria Airport is used for commercial flights to Cape Town, Botswana, and Sun City. ;Buses Johannesburg is served by a bus fleet operated by http://www.mbus.co.za/ a corporate unit of the City of Johannesburg. It has a fleet consisting of approximately 550 single and double-decker buses, plying 84 different routes in the city. This total includes 200 modern buses (150 double-deckers and 50 single-deckers), made by Volvo and Marcopolo/Brasa in 2002. Metrobus' fleet carries approximately 20 million passengers per annum. Metrobus also operates a number of open-top buses in the "City Slicker" role, using them to provide guided tours around the city. In addition there are a number of private bus operators, though most focus on the inter-city routes, or on bus charters for touring groups. ;Taxis Johannesburg has two kinds of taxis, metered taxis and minibus taxis. Unlike many cities, metered taxis are not allowed to drive around the city looking for passengers and instead must be called and ordered to a destination. Metered taxis are rare, in comparison to many other cities. The minibus "taxis" are the ''de facto'' standard and essential form of transport for the majority of the population. Although essential, these taxis are often of a poor standard in not only road-worthiness, but also in terms of driver quality with a majority of taxi drivers breaking traffic laws regularly (such as driving in the emergency lane while speeding on a highway). With the high demand for transport by the working class of South Africa, minibus taxis are often over-filled with passengers causing yet another hazard for road users. However, without subsidies from Government and a lack of other feasible public transport, minibus taxis will remain an essential form of transport for many of Joburg's working class. ;Freeways :''Main article: Johannesburg freeways'' The fact that Johannesburg is not built near a large navigable body of water has meant that from the very beginning of the city's history, ground transportation has been the most important method of transporting people and goods in and out of the city. One of Africa's most famous "beltways" or ring roads/orbitals is the Johannesburg Ring Road. The road is comprised of three freeway|freeways that converge on the city, forming an 80-kilometre loop around it: the N3 Eastern Bypass (South Africa)|N3 Eastern Bypass, which links Johannesburg with Durban; the N1 Western Bypass (South Africa)|N1 Western Bypass, which links Johannesburg with Pretoria and Cape Town; and the N12 Southern Bypass (South Africa)|N12 Southern Bypass, which links Johannesburg with Witbank and Kimberley, South Africa|Kimberley. The N3 (South Africa)|N3 was built exclusively with asphalt, while the N12 (South Africa|N12 and N1 (South Africa)|N1 sections were made with concrete, hence the nickname given to the N1 Western Bypass, "The Concrete Highway". In spite of being up to 12 lanes wide in some areas (6 lanes in either direction), the Johannesburg Ring Road is frequently clogged with traffic. The Gillooly's Interchange, built on an old farm and the point at which the N3 Eastern Bypass and the R24 (Gauteng)|R24 Airport Freeway intersect, is purported to be the busiest interchange in the Southern Hemisphere.

Universities in Johannesburg

Johannesburg has an extremely well-developed higher education system of both private school|private and public school|public universities. Johannesburg is served by the public universities University of the Witwatersrand and the University of Johannesburg. University of Johannesburg was formed on 1 January 2005 when three separate universities and campuses—Rand Afrikaans University, Technikon Witwatersrand, and Vista University—were merged together. The new university offers education primarily in English language|English and Afrikaans, although courses may be taken in any of South Africa's official languages. The University of the Witwatersrand is one of the leading universities in South Africa, and is famous as a centre of resistance to apartheid, earning it the nickname "Moscow on the Hill". Private universities include Monash University, which has one of its eight campuses in Johannesburg (six of the other campuses are in Australia, while the eighth is in Malaysia), and Midrand University which is located in Midrand.

References

''Early Johannesburg, Its Buildings and People''. Hannes Meiring, Human & Rousseau. 1986. 143 pages. ISBN 0798114568

''Gold! Gold! Gold! The Johannesburg Gold Rush''. Eric Rosenthal, AD. Donker, 1970, ISBN 0949937649

''Johannesburg: The Elusive Metropolis''. Sarah Nuttall. Duke University Press. 9 January 2005. 210 pages. ISBN 082236610X.

''The Corner House: The Early History of Johannesburg''. Alan Patrick Cartwright. MacDonald. 1965. 293 pages.

External links

http://wikitravel.org/en/Johannesburgfrom Wikitravel

http://www.joburg.co.za '''Government'''

http://www.joburg.org.za

http://www.gpg.gov.za'''News'''

http://www.news24.com/Beeld/Home/

http://www.news24.com/City_Press/Home/

http://www.sowetan.co.za/

http://www.mg.co.za/

http://www.citizen.co.za/

http://www.thestar.co.za/

http://www.sundaytimes.co.za/ '''Other'''

http://www.jse.co.za- South Africa's largest stock exchange

http://www.uj.ac.za/

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=johannesburg&ll=-26.170229,28.009644&spn=0.219248,0.317350&t=k&hl=en

http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/twins