Suburbs of Johannesburg - Northern Suburbs

Northern Suburbs

The northern suburbs, located in Regions 2, 3, 4, and 7, include the most wealthy and developed parts of the city. Spreading to the north from the inner city to the border with Midrand, the northern suburbs include both large housing developments and commercial centres. The northern suburbs benefited greatly from the deterioration of the CBD, as many people and businesses moved. The northern suburbs have developed along the M1 and N1 highways, which serve as their major arterial roads. The N1 Western Bypass connects the northern suburbs with the north-western suburbs.

The residential areas in the northern suburbs are mainly formal, with no significant areas of informal housing, or housing that lacks a permanent structure. Although this is an established area, there is a trend of land use change from residential to commercial, especially along main arterial roads and around established nodes. The area is also becoming more dense, as large residential properties are subdivided, or redeveloped, as townhouse and cluster house complexes. The area is well connected to road networks, especially along the north-south axis formed by the M1 and N1. Roads to the east and west are less well developed, as there are no freeways travelling in that direction.

Towards the northern border of the city, the density of development decreases, leaving large areas of undeveloped land around Midrand. Grand Central Airport is also located in the area. The first suburb to the north of the inner city is Parktown, which is located on a hill overlooking the inner city and Hillbrow. It has many wealthy residents and Edwardian-style mansions, as well as the Education and Medical campuses of the University of the Witwatersrand. The large concrete Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital dominates the skyline of Parktown. There are numerous office parks in the suburb as well. Just to the west of Parktown is Westcliff and Parkwood, which is one of the wealthiest areas in Johannesburg, as it is located on the side of a very tall hill and overlooks the inner city as well as the northern suburbs. Other wealthy residential suburbs, Saxonwold and Houghton continue to the north of Westcliff. Nelson Mandela has a house in Houghton, and it is also the location of the most prestigious secondary schools in Johannesburg. Houghton is also the former electoral district of Helen Suzman, a famous anti-apartheid Member of Parliament.

The suburbs become more commercial to the north of Houghton. Rosebank is the centre of high-end retail and shopping for northern suburb residents. Many smaller companies who cannot afford to be located in Sandton also are located in Rosebank. The suburbs near Rosebank, including Parkhurst, Parktown North, Craighall Park and Greenside are collectively known as "The Parks". Parkhurst is known for its village atmosphere and pavement cafés and restaurants. Greenside is next to Parkhurst and has developed Parkhurst-style restaurants.

Hyde Park, Sandton, and Morningside are all to the north of Rosebank, all of which are extremely wealthy and well policed. Sandton has become the new business area of Johannesburg, and features many corporate headquarters, as well as Nelson Mandela Square and Wanderers Stadium, the most prestigious cricket ground in South Africa. The skyline of Sandton has grown rapidly and there are many projects under development in the area. Sandton is also the location of the JSE Securities Exchange, Africa's largest stock exchange, which relocated from the CBD in 2000.

The quality of life deteriorates on the outer fringes of the northern suburbs. One of the poorest townships, Alexandra, is located in this border area, to the east of Sandton.