"Africa's Richest Square Mile"
The Sandton area is one of the most opulent in Johannesburg and South Africa, and therefore in Africa but not far away (only about 6 km) from Alexandra, one of the poorest former black townships. Sandton covers an area of approximately 156 km² while Alexandra is just over 8 km². It is estimated that the population of Alexandra is the same as that of Sandton itself.
Due to the shortage of available land, the trend in new developments is to go skyward. This is evidenced by the new 140-metre tall Michelangelo Towers, which purports to offer Manhattan-style living in Johannesburg. The new apartment block will be the fourth-tallest building in Johannesburg and local newspaper the Sunday Times reports that the top-selling penthouse apartment was sold for R28 million (around $4 million).
Concerns have been raised as to whether Sandton has the necessary road and water infrastructure to sustain the massive development that is characteristic of Johannesburg in the 21st century (since the demise of Apartheid and the Group Areas Act).
Read more about this topic: Sandton
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