Suburbs of Johannesburg - North-western Suburbs

North-western Suburbs

The north-western suburbs, located in Regions A and B, exist between the northern suburbs, Soweto, and the inner city. They are mostly low-rise although there are few skyscrapers. There are a few new developments in the recently incorporated city of Randburg, which is a chief commercial node for the area. The area is also connected to the rest of the city by the N1 Western Bypass.

Roodepoort is another major formerly independent municipality, recently incorporated into Johannesburg. Roodepoort's previously predominantly white population is changing as its proximity to Soweto has made it attractive to middle-class black people who want to move to nicer houses while maintaining ties to their old communities. There is ample access from the more affluent northern residential areas to the inner city. However, links are poor towards high economic and commercial areas in the north, such as Randburg and Sandton. This gives rise to increasing numbers of secondary roads, creating congestion and putting pressure on residential areas and infrastructure.

Towards the extreme north-west of the city, there are well-developed farms, as well as smaller formal and informal residential areas. There are also large manufacturing and industrial nodes. The informal settlements in this area are growing rapidly, with 76 per cent of the population of Diepsloot living in informal housing. The industrial areas along Malibongwe Drive in the south-west form part of the Kya Sand area. Fourways, in the south-east, is the major retail, office and entertainment area.

The first suburb to be grouped in the north-west is Auckland Park. Auckland Park is home to the headquarters of the South African Broadcasting Corporation, which is located in Radiopark, and two campuses of the sprawling University of Johannesburg.

North of Auckland Park lies Melville, which has morphed into a Bohemian enclave of restaurants, cafés, and bookstores based chiefly around 7th Avenue. This occurred mainly following the South African Broadcasting Corporation moving its headquarters to Auckland Park. Melville's main entertainment strip is 7th Road. A national serial drama, 7de Laan, shows the strip in its opening credits, mistakenly referring to the road as 7th Avenue. In Melville, lanes run east to west while roads lie north to south. Melville borders on the north to the Melville Koppies, a small protected reserve. The chief road that cuts though Melville's business area, Beyers Naude Drive. Currently Melville has faced decline as several businesses relocate back into to the newly renovated Newtown area in the city centre.

West of Melville is Sophiatown, once one of the most vibrant black suburbs in the city. Considered a criminal and political hotbed, the entire suburb was razed to the ground in the 1950s. A white suburb of Triomf, meaning "triumph" in Afrikaans, was constructed in its place. The only remaining original Sophiatown building is the Anglican Church of Christ the King. The area has since reintroduced the use of its original name.