Regions of Johannesburg
Encyclopedia
The administration of Johannesburg
was decentralised into 11 regions following the creation of the post-apartheid City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality
in 2000. Each region is operationally responsible for the delivery of health care
, housing
, sports and recreation
, libraries
, social development, and other local community-based services.
Each region has a People's Centre where any city-related transaction can be dealt with. Residents can lodge complaints, report service problems, and perform council-related business more quickly.
In 2006, the number of regions was consolidated, from eleven, to seven http://joburgnews.co.za/citichat/2006/apr10_citichat11.stm.
were affluent with well-established amenities while neighbouring areas lacked even the most basic of services. The new regions are now smaller than previous mega-suburbs with each being home to about 300,000 people. The idea is that smaller regions will be able to stay in closer contact with local communities.
, but instead take on a role as contractors
to the central government. The relationship is similar to that of the larger utilities
and agencies, such as City Power, and is designed to maximise efficiency.
The closeness of the new regional administrations with their communities enables them to be more responsive to differing local needs. For instance, the needs of a high-income commercial centre such as Sandton will be very different from the needs of a low-income area such as Orange Farm.
LIDPs deal with city development, management and growth over a five to 10-year period. While they deal with local issues, they take an integrated approach to issues such as transportation, housing and environmental management. An overall Metropolitan IDP looks at the bigger picture and ensures that LIDPs don't conflict or lead to wasted resources. LIDPs will be revised annually so as to respond to changing conditions both locally and at a city level.
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
was decentralised into 11 regions following the creation of the post-apartheid City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality
City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality
The City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality is a metropolitan municipality that manages the local governance of Johannesburg, South Africa...
in 2000. Each region is operationally responsible for the delivery of health care
Health care
Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...
, housing
House
A house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...
, sports and recreation
Sport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
, libraries
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
, social development, and other local community-based services.
Each region has a People's Centre where any city-related transaction can be dealt with. Residents can lodge complaints, report service problems, and perform council-related business more quickly.
In 2006, the number of regions was consolidated, from eleven, to seven http://joburgnews.co.za/citichat/2006/apr10_citichat11.stm.
Changes to the previous city structure
After the end of apartheid allowed the consideration of the entire city of Johannesburg as one without consideration of race, it was determined that the previous structure of the city was wasteful and that there was much duplication of functions. Furthermore, some suburbsSuburbs of Johannesburg
The suburbs of Johannesburg are officially demarcated areas within the city of Johannesburg, South Africa. As in other Commonwealth countries, the term suburb refers to a "neighbourhood", although the term has a somewhat stronger meaning in South Africa as most "suburbs" have legally recognised...
were affluent with well-established amenities while neighbouring areas lacked even the most basic of services. The new regions are now smaller than previous mega-suburbs with each being home to about 300,000 people. The idea is that smaller regions will be able to stay in closer contact with local communities.
Administration
The regions are no longer seen as part of the core administrationCity of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality
The City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality is a metropolitan municipality that manages the local governance of Johannesburg, South Africa...
, but instead take on a role as contractors
General contractor
A general contractor is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and communication of information to involved parties throughout the course of a building project.-Description:...
to the central government. The relationship is similar to that of the larger utilities
Utility
In economics, utility is a measure of customer satisfaction, referring to the total satisfaction received by a consumer from consuming a good or service....
and agencies, such as City Power, and is designed to maximise efficiency.
The closeness of the new regional administrations with their communities enables them to be more responsive to differing local needs. For instance, the needs of a high-income commercial centre such as Sandton will be very different from the needs of a low-income area such as Orange Farm.
Local Integrated Development Plans
Local Integrated Development Plans (LIDPs) are plans for the development of a specific area. A LIDP guides a region's future development. For this reason, the LIDP zones closely follow the boundaries of the regions. However, in certain cases where suburbs are cut in half by the new region boundaries, the entire suburb may be covered in only one of the regions.LIDPs deal with city development, management and growth over a five to 10-year period. While they deal with local issues, they take an integrated approach to issues such as transportation, housing and environmental management. An overall Metropolitan IDP looks at the bigger picture and ensures that LIDPs don't conflict or lead to wasted resources. LIDPs will be revised annually so as to respond to changing conditions both locally and at a city level.