Johannesburg’s city centre paints a stark picture of urban decay, with abandoned buildings, unsafe streets, and dwindling public spaces. Once a hub of vibrancy, Joburg’s decline has been exacerbated by government inaction, failing infrastructure, and post-COVID challenges. With third spaces disappearing and public safety concerns soaring, can collaboration between communities, private entities, and local governance revive the city? Mukundi Budeli’s thought-provoking exploration examines how Johannesburg can reclaim its identity and foster inclusive urban renewal.
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By Mukundi Budeli*
As you walk through the Johannesburg city centre a dominant feature that stares you in the face is the prevalence of abandoned buildings, people doing drugs like heroin and meth on the side of the street, an abundance of prostitutes on the street, and unsafe roads to walk on for pedestrians. At the very least Joburg CBD is an unpleasant place to be; at the very worst it is scary and threatening to everyone, especially children. This is concerning, especially in the post-covid world where third spaces for the public have increasingly disappeared.
‘Third spaces’, a term originally coined by sociologist Ray Oldenburg, are spaces which are neither work or school or your home but the “in between” neutral space, where one can bump into friends and family or even meet strangers. This includes parks, libraries, museums, coffee shops, and shared working spaces. Unfortunately, as you navigate Johannesburg these spaces are often inaccessible due to failing infrastructure and policing. This has further been compounded by the closure of businesses due to Covid-19 and government-imposed lockdowns. People had to subsequently resort to digital spaces as their new ’third space’.
With the festive season looming, people who choose to stay in the city have increasingly fewer public spaces to turn to.
I often speak to older individuals from diverse backgrounds who lived and worked in Johannesburg from the early 2000s to the early 2010s. The city they describe is almost unrecognisable to what many “Joburgers” experience today. They recall a lively, walkable city with vibrant social spaces for all ages, where people strolled and walked their dogs in Hillbrow. Social media pages, like Jozi v Jozi on X, have gone viral by documenting the decline of once-popular streets and monuments, often sparking controversy.
In recent years, the city has been plagued by unstable government leadership, corruption scandals, and a lack of initiative to address these issues. This raises the question: Is there an alternative way for communities to directly address these problems, given the government’s disinterest and failure to act?
The Johannesburg library has been closed since 2020, apparently due to renovations and repairs. However, as you drive past there is no indication of any construction outside. Will it eventually close down? In August 2024 Stanley Mlambo, the director of projects in the Johannesburg community development department, provided that the building would partially reopen in 6 months and fully reopen in the next 10 months once a contractor has been appointed. So, for 4 years, what was the City doing? This is just one example of the issues that continue to plague the city.
On 20 November 2024, during an extra-ordinary council meeting, 146 Joburg Councillors – backed by the ANC led coalition including the EFF, ActionSA and the PA – voted to give themselves a raise. This increased to R580 000 the annual salary for regular councillors, and R1.5 million for the mayor. Councillors also have access to phone allowances of R3 600 per month, and car allowances. Are these people aware of how the average Joburger is living and the conditions they are experiencing on the ground? This is dystopian and out of touch with the electorate.
According to the Auditor General’s 2022/23 only 20% of targets by the Department of Public Works were met; all this while the department is specialised and tasked with managing the use of fixed assets in the public sector and enforcing regulations. It is a department with consistent financial irregularities which resulted in a loss of R746 million – money that simply vanished. This raises eyebrows as this is a specialised government department that has a narrow mandate – how did this department bungle 80% of their targeted projects in one year?
The COVID-19 lockdowns severely impacted Small, Medium, and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs), with 42.7% closing in 2021 and 99.9% of relief applications being denied, according to the Banking Association South Africa. Since SMMEs employ 50-60% of the workforce, many individuals have not recovered from job losses and cannot afford to access third spaces like coffee shops, cinemas, and restaurants, most of which are now in areas like Rosebank, Kempton Park, and Sandton.
Accessing third spaces in the city is also difficult due to unreliable and unsafe transportation. Many residents must factor in safety concerns when walking home after dark, and public taxis often drop passengers far from their destinations. With only 46% of Johannesburg’s population owning cars, those without must rely on expensive e-hailing services.
In 2018, pre-COVID, 20 million South Africans used social media, a number that grew to an estimated 26 million by 2024, according to Statista and Melwater. This surge reflects a significant shift, driven by the increased need for connection during the pandemic.
What are some short-term changes that can be implemented by the City? It is evident that the City is struggling with the volume of work required to maintain and generate self-sustaining revenue for these third spaces. The City has an opportunity to invite community members, private stakeholders and the private sector in collaborating to preserve, upgrade and create new spaces. Joburg is a melting pot of culture and history, a city with an abundance of socioeconomic opportunities. To access this prosperity citizens need spaces that are safe and clean. Private organisations such as the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation and Jozi my Jozi work to reclaim Johannesburg. However, relying on the benevolence of private groups to volunteer in reclaiming the city is insufficient without government easing their grip on maintaining the decaying city.
South Africa has 180,000 police officers for a population of 61 million, meaning there is only one officer for every 340 people. This is insufficient to ensure public safety, with 82% of South Africans reporting feeling unsafe. In contrast, there are 2.7 million registered security officers, who help fill the gap in an under-policed country. The Johannesburg Central Police Station ranks among the top four for reported crimes.
To address this, the government could leverage the 408 Community Policing Forums (CPFs), established under the South African Police Service Act 68 of 1995. CPFs assist the South African Police Service (SAPS) and supplement policing with private security solutions. Police training takes 21-24 months, but South Africans need immediate solutions. By empowering CPFs, which are led by local communities, the government can enable residents to take greater control over their own safety. CPFs are well-positioned to develop tailored solutions in collaboration with SAPS, understanding the specific needs of their communities.
The city is for all of us; we need to reclaim it.
Read also:
- Viv Vermaak: (Why) are Joburgers friendlier than Capetonians?
- 🔒 RW Johnson: The Gauteng water crisis – Joburg is a dying city
- Joburg mayoral crisis sparks debate over COGTA’s proposed coalition bill
*Mukundi Budeli is a final year LLB student at the University of Witwatersrand and an Associate of the Free Market Foundation
