2.1 Physical Geography

Map 5: Physical Geography

Map 5: Physical Geography

North-south Cross Section of Johannesburg

1Situated at close to 1,600 meters above sea level in the landscape of the Witwatersrand¹, the City of Johannesburg is characterised by an undulating topography, with relatively significant slopes, exceeding 5% at times. The crest line cutting the city in half in an East-West direction is a real division between the North and the South of the city. The unavoidable geological features of the spatial landscape – such as the crest lines, slopes, hills, valleys and watercourses – at times create urban zones that are naturally cut off from one another.

2Today still, the topography strongly affects the way the city is organised. The city centre, which was developed close to some of the first gold deposits discovered, overlooks the entire urban area from an altitude of around 1,700 meters. The city grew progressively on the sides of the ridge and down valleys (as is the case for Soweto and the outer suburbs in the north-eastern section of the city).

3Other than the development of wealthy areas such as Doornfontein located on south facing slopes, well-off residential areas have logically and preferentially settled on the sunny northern slopes of the city, close to the centre.

4The topography is particularly complex to manage from a technical point of view concerning infrastructure networks, particularly water distribution. The design and layout of water grids must take relief effects into account, and manage the complex issue of storm water management. The progressive waterproofing of the soils (resulting from constructions and roads), particularly in strategic basins, makes this issue increasingly glaring.

5The sections of the city situated in valley bottoms, suffer from air stagnation and therefore high pollution rates, particularly in winter.

The CBD. Photo © Laurent Chauvet

Map 6: Environmental Geography

Map 6: Environmental Geography

6Geologically, the ridge crossing the centre of Johannesburg in an east-west direction marks a strong distinction between the north and south of the city. The ridge forms the watershed between the Vaal River Basin to the south that leads into the Orange River and the Atlantic Ocean, and the Limpopo River Basin to the north, that runs into the Indian Ocean.

• In the north, mainly around the suburbs of Randburg and Sandton, the soil is generally stable and not subject to erosion; since it is mostly made up of granite, it is permeable.

• South of the crest, near the city centre, the soil, mainly composed of quartz and conglomerate, is characterised by high erosion linked to steep slopes exceeding 10% at times.

• The whole area around Soweto, which is shaped like a basin, represents a high flood risk because of the urban density and the soil composition, but also a water pollution risk because of the housing density.

• On the extreme southern part of the city, towards the suburb of Lenasia and the Orange Farm area, the soil is composed of dolomite, allowing the formation of depressions and cavities in the soil, which lead to erosion and in some cases to sinkholes.

7The city of Johannesburg was developed after gold was discovered there in 1886, and as such does not have any of the usual geographic characteristics required when building a city, as far as waterways or coasts are concerned. Johannesburg is an atypical example and its geological characteristics affect deeply its spatial structure.

8The city has a semi-arid climate and can therefore be subjected to droughts as well as floods. On the other hand, temperatures are moderate thanks to the fact that it stands at 1,600 meters above sea level.

9A number of watercourses exist in the northern suburbs and can transform into torrents during thunderstorms. They are the source of many tributaries flowing into the Limpopo and Orange Rivers. Today, most of these watercourses are covered and canalised.

10Finally, of note is the lushness of the vegetation in the northern part of the city which is considered as “the largest man-made urban forest in the world”, with over 10 million trees.

11The pressure for land, the role of the private sector, as well as the little consideration shown for the ecological diversity of the city, are putting a lot of pressure on the environment, leading to the rapid deterioration of the remaining natural ecosystems. As a result, natural environments are in regression and most often fragmented or endangered.

12Urban sprawl and the density of linear infrastructures are being continued to the detriment of natural environments, isolating them and disturbing any interaction between them. The lack of structuring or planning prevents the different functional units of the city from linking with one another.

Dam, Soweto, June 2013

Johannesburg and its green Northern suburbs

2.2 Historical Urban Growth

Map 7: Historical Evolution

Map 7: Historical Evolution

13The lack of freely available data made the accurate reconstitution of the urban morphology of each period difficult.

14The urban morphology of Johannesburg was largely defined by two concomitant phenomena which reinforced each other, and lay the foundations of a structurally and sociologically fragmented city.

15Initially, gold mining with its massive need for labour, led to population growth as well as significant migrations in the city.

16The city was initially inhabited essentially by men who came to work. Housing was then supervised by the authorities in the form of a land use plan, which means that different residential areas were delimited early in the development of the city.

17In the north-east, near the city centre, were three enclaves: segregated into racially defined groups for people of Indian decent, those of Malay decent and black Africans.

18Likewise, all Whites did not reside in the same place. A group of low income Afrikaners was allocated an area west of the city centre, near the Indian location, called Burghersdorp, then one near Vrededorp. Despite the creation of these enforced segregations, racial mixing subsisted. Influential Whites and the (mainly English-speaking) middle class settled more to the east of the city centre, in Doornfontein. Later, they moved more towards the north of the city centre, on the Parktown Ridge².

19Due to its status as a mining city, the rail network became the essential infrastructure for its economic prowess, with all merchandises transiting by train towards Cape Town or Durban. As such, as early as 1892, Johannesburg enjoyed a long distance rail network that was certainly successful, but that divided the city in two. The railway ran (and still runs) in an east-west direction and was situated south of the mining belt. The layout of the railway lines depended on the location of the mine shafts, not the city, since they were used in priority for the freight. Transporting passengers was secondary.

1886-1895

1896-1900

20Also, from the very beginning, the city was organised around a buffer zone taken up by the railway lines, industrial areas and warehouses. The map shows clearly this spatial division and central urban gap. The original city, in yellow on the map, can be seen expanding to the north and south of this buffer zone.

21Yet the network of the “modern” city of Johannesburg dates from the inter-war years, when the municipality tried to remedy the lack of housing, mainly in favour of the “poor” white population, but also in favour of black Africans. The construction of houses for the latter was consolidated in the south-west section of the city, with the municipality hoping to keep the black populations separate from white areas, but close enough to work in the city. The northern suburbs developed rapidly (in orange on the map) and the first enclaves of housings appeared in the south-east.

1901-1940

22The apartheid policies applied from 1948 until the 1980s reinforced the segregative measures of the previous decades. We can see in red on the map, the development of the townships which served to house the significant black labour force.

1941-1960

23As with many cities around the world (arguably most notably, American cities) the rapid expansion of car usage had a high impact on urban morphologies and the spatial structures of the city. As such, in the 1960s, the government chose an “all-car” development model. With cars becoming essential symbols of access to freedom, affluence and prestige, urban structures were put under pressure and adapted accordingly. Long distances could be covered in a short time, resulting in the city spreading along its motorway spines.

24In parallel, the dismantling of the tramway network (in use from 1954 to 1961) contributed to reducing the attractiveness of the city centre, which became increasingly difficult to access and became saturated by increased traffic. Consumers began to reject the congested centre in favour of shops more easily accessible by car in the outer suburbs.

1961-1976

25From the beginning of the 1980s, the city experienced a sprawling growth (which can be seen in purple on the map). Economic activities were not spared and ended up spreading along all major trunk roads.

26Whether public or private, urbanisation in the last years pursued a similar logic, in pushing urban boundaries outward.

1977-2000

2.3 Transport Networks

Map 8: Transport

Map 8: Transport

27In Johannesburg as in most South African cities, the historical lack of investment in transport infrastructures means that, today, many problems related to mobility and accessibility to urban amenities still exist.

28Several generations of transport succeeded one another in Johannesburg. Initially, an effective tramway network served the CBD, complemented by rail networks for the remote suburbs of the south-east. As seen previously, the tram system was dismantled in the 1960s and the metro rail system has seen a steady decline, although with recent investments and plans for future upgrades implemented.

29The spatial structure of the city was then organised around a radial urban network, emanating from the city centre and more specifically Park Station, the central train and bus station of the city. Urban development of the city took place along these development lines which linked the various attraction poles and which became progressively urbanised.

30The rapid development of daily mobility had an impact first of all on the urban traffic which increased over time, but also on the distances covered which became increasingly longer.

31There are 15,343 km of roads for 4.4 million inhabitants, i.e. 3.50 m of road/person. When comparing Johannesburg, which has an average density of 2,500 inhabitants/km², with a compact city (with a density higher than 15,000 inhabitant/km²), the length of the road network, and consequently the cost, per person is multiplied by 6³.

32The main objectives of the new transport policy of the city, established in 2006 and revised in 2012, are to meet the current mobility needs, by creating and improving infrastructure and the service level of the network, so as to consolidate the urban development of the metropolis.

• An informal system of public transport in the form of minibus taxis has been developing over the decades, thereby filling the gap left by government policies and enabling the poorest populations to move around. Minibus taxis and their associations are seen today as important actors which the city seeks to integrate in its new transport strategy.

• The Gautrain, introduced in 2010, a regional train linking Pretoria, O.R. Tambo International Airport, and the centre of Johannesburg as well as a number of business centres along the route, including Sandton and Rosebank. The prime objective of this new train line was to relieve congestion in the Pretoria-Johannesburg agglomeration, by linking residential areas to activity and job centres. The system’s target clientele is arguably higher income commuters, as it connects mainly business centres and higher income areas of the city.

• Rea Vaya, Johannesburg’s Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, introduced its first line in 2010 and is in the process of expanding. Its ambitious ultimate objective is to place 85% of citizens in the city at less than 500 metres from a traffic line or bus station. Today, bus lines put into service are following the existing north-south lines of the city centre towards Soweto (and soon towards Alexandra). The fragmented layout of the city and the multiplication of job centres make this a very ambitious project, both economically and functionally.

• Metrorail commuter trains were conceived to transport workers from the townships to their place of work during apartheid. They are still circulating today. As mentioned earlier, the quality of rolling stock and operations has deteriorated over time. Metrorail has established a strategic plan for Gauteng. It has recently implemented an investment programme of up to 24 billion Rand over 3 years to rehabilitate the network and integrate it into other transport modes.

• Buses in the city are managed by Metrobus, a city-owned company, and by a private company, PUCTO, which was created in 1945 to meet the demand for the public transport of black populations. The bus network links the townships to activity and job centres as well as trunk roads. This private company benefits from national subsidies.

• Issues concerning the coordination of timetables, lines, travelling routes and tariffs remain complex, considering the multitude of actors involved and the lack of public policy. Currently, a project for the establishment of a schedule shared by Metrobus, Rea Vaya (BRT), Gautrain and taxi operators is under way. It will ensure better connections between the various services.

Tram Network Map, Johannesburg, 1932.

2.4 Demographics and Human Geography

Map 9: Human Geography

Map 9: Human Geography

33The population of Johannesburg is representative of the city’s dynamism. With 2.63 million residents in 1996, it increased to 3.2 million in 2001 and reached 4.4 million in 2011, i.e. a growth of 37% between 2001 and 2011.

34Johannesburg has become the main destination for migrants from rural parts of the country and international migrants. This is explained first of all by the fact that the city is the economic centre of Gauteng and the centre of the national economy. Second, it interacts closely with the two other metropolitan areas of Tshwane and Ekurhuleni and finally, compared to other main cities in South Africa, it is relatively close to Botswana, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Despite the difficulty of enumerating the number of foreign migrants (those without papers in particular), it was estimated that they represent between 12% and 14% of the population of Johannesburg.

35The increase in population reflects spatial tendencies representative of major urban trends. On the one hand, it follows the increase in jobs in economic centres which are developing in the north (i.e. Sandton, Randburg and Midrand). On the other, it is linked directly to two phenomena: the production of social housing in the outer suburbs of the metropolitan area (Diepsloot, Ivory Park and Cosmo City among others) and the multiplication of informal housing (Soweto and the city centre in particular). The map opposite shows the distribution of population density in the city. The evolution between 2001 and 2011 shows major urban changes and major areas of densification.

2001

2011

Change in Population (2001-2011)