Johannesburg has put substantial resources into turning around the central business district (CBD), a victim in the 1990s of capital flight to the northern suburbs.

Crime rates are down thanks to intensive policing; occupancy rates are up, thanks to a combination of quality properties and low rents; investment is increasing as confidence improves; and cleanliness has returned, thanks to an intensive campaign from Pikitup, the city's waste collection utility. The Gauteng government, the biggest tenant in the inner city with 120,000 square metres, has major plans to develop the area around Market Square into a government precinct.

Demographics

The inner city has 217,000 residents in 37,000 dwelling units. Some 800,000 commuters enter the city every day, and 300,000 - 400,000 migrant shoppers visit the city each year. The city has 7-million m2 of floor space and 3-million m2 of office space. The office buildings represent a R19-billion investment, and the housing a R1.2-billion capital investment.

An October 2003 survey by Trafalgar Property & Financial Services provided these statistics about inner-city residents:

Not all of are poor: 12% earn more than R15,000 per month, and 79% earn more than R1,500 per month

Many are well educated: 19% have university educations, and 35% have technikon diplomas

90% have cellphones, and 44% use e-mail

31% own their own cars, 74% use minibus taxis as their chief form of transport, and 32% use municipal buses

Reasons given for choosing the inner city included affordability (22%), proximity to work (11%) and proximity to schools (11%)

Challenges and advantages

The CBD has distinctive competitive advantages:

Pivotal location in the city's centre

Major public transportation hub: all major arterials, all rail, and all bus services run into the city centre

Low rentals and property prices for high-quality offices

Access to a large workforce due to easy access from Soweto

Under-served markets

Significant infrastructure

However, the CBD has also posed certain major challenges to city government:

Curbing the high crime rate

Lack of sufficient capacity to enforce by-laws, particularly relating to informal trading

Poor condition of certain buildings

Properties that are in arrears with rates or monthly bills

Management of taxis

Inner city regeneration strategy

The goal of city government's Inner City Regeneration Strategy is to raise and sustain private investment in the inner city, leading to a rise in property values. The components of the strategy are:

Intensive urban management, including improvements to service quality, strict enforcement of by-laws, management of taxis and informal traders, and sound credit control.

Upgrading and maintenance of infrastructure to create an environment attractive to both residents and
business.

Support for those economic sectors that have the potential to thrive in the inner city, and encourage growth in those sectors.

Discouraging "sinkholes", meaning properties that are abandoned, overcrowded or poorly maintained, and which in turn "pull down" the value of entire city blocks by discouraging investment.

Encouraging "ripple effect" investments that can lift an entire area.

Johannesburg News Agency

Publisher: Johannesburg News Agency
Source: Inet Bridge