Highlands, Harare
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Highlands is an upper-middle income, residential suburb nestled between Borrowdale and Newlands in the east of
Harare Harare ( ), formerly Salisbury, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of , a population of 1,849,600 as of the 2022 Zimbabwe census, 2022 census and an estimated 2,487,209 people in its metrop ...
, best known as the home of the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, and for its
ethnic diversity Multiculturalism is the coexistence of multiple cultures. The word is used in sociology, in political philosophy, and colloquially. In sociology and everyday usage, it is usually a synonym for ''ethnic'' or cultural pluralism in which various ...
, history,
natural environment The natural environment or natural world encompasses all life, biotic and abiotic component, abiotic things occurring nature, naturally, meaning in this case not artificiality, artificial. The term is most often applied to Earth or some parts ...
and splendid panoramic views of downtown Harare. Located in the 'Golden Triangle' of Harare, it is sometimes grouped in the inner east suburbs of Harare along with other suburbs such as Eastlea, Mandara or Greendale.


History

When farmer, Gerhardt Van der Byl retired back to the
Cape Province The Province of the Cape of Good Hope (), commonly referred to as the Cape Province () and colloquially as The Cape (), was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequently the Republic of South Africa. It encompassed the old Cape Co ...
in 1927, he sold his then farm, ''Welmoed'' to the Salisbury Real Estate Co, a property development company with
Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
founders, who settled on the name Highlands, partly because it lies on one of the highest pieces of ground in Harare, but also because of their Scottish heritage. The first road to be paved and developed was called Argyle Drive. This was later redesignated as part of the Newlands suburb. Over time, Highlands was subdivided and became a desirable place to live close to the city centre. The most expensive residential street in Highlands is Orange Grove Drive, located between Kew Drive and Ridgeway North. Due to its elevation, Highlands has long been one of the more desirable and quieter areas in Harare to live. This part of Harare is generally a well-kept, leafy and compact, area between northeastern areas like
Borrowdale Borrowdale is a valley and civil parish in the English Lake District in Cumberland (unitary authority), Cumberland, England. It is in the ceremonial county of Cumbria, and is sometimes referred to as ''Cumberland Borrowdale'' to distinguis ...
, Chisipite and Glen Lorne, and the gritty, workaday city centre. Despite its proximity to the CBD, Highlands has seen less of the development and
gentrification Gentrification is the process whereby the character of a neighborhood changes through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents (the "gentry") and investment. There is no agreed-upon definition of gentrification. In public discourse, it has ...
than nearby, Eastlea, Newlands and Greendale, where increasingly houses are being bought and demolished in favor of commercial buildings and apartments due to lack of space in the city, and as such the area has become a popular are for
boutique hotel Boutique hotels are small-capacity Hotel, hotels that provide more personalized service than typical hotels. They typically have fewer than a hundred rooms, and are considered more "trendy" and "intimate", often due to their location in urban ar ...
s and lodges that offer a refuge for the city centre, while maintaining a disproportionate number of long term residents by city standards. Within the Ballantyne and Mukuvisi Woodlands boundaries lies one the highest natural point in the Harare, some 1600 metres above sea level. Ballantyne Park also hosts community gardens, playgrounds, tennis courts, playing fields, and dog-walkers year round, while Mukuvisi is a popular nature and
wildlife Wildlife refers to domestication, undomesticated animals and uncultivated plant species which can exist in their natural habitat, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wilderness, wild in an area without being species, introdu ...
reserve. Highlands was transformed when television was introduced on 15 November 1960 after ZBC TV, then RTV, opened its television studios on Northend Road in Pockets Hill, Highlands, making it the second country after
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to launch a television service in Africa and the first in Southern Africa.


Geographic impact

The neighborhood is near one the highest points in Harare, Ballantyne Park, which houses a nature reserve, recreation areas and a mixed use cricket and soccer field. Due to the high altitude, Highlands is best known as the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation,
Multichoice MultiChoice is a South Africa, South African company that operates DStv, a major satellite television service in Sub-Saharan Africa. The company also operates GOtv Africa, GOtv, a minor satellite TV service operating in 9 countries, and Showmax, ...
Zimbabwe and nearly all of the city's
radio masts and towers Radio masts and towers are typically tall structures designed to support antenna (radio), antennas for telecommunications and broadcasting, including television. There are two main types: guyed and self-supporting structures. They are among the ...
including the studios and/or towers for ZBC television and radio stations. A government monopoly on local broadcasting has prevented the area from becoming a true media hub in the vein of London's, White City, though there has been talk of allowing more private broadcasters by the Mnangagwa government.


Architecture

Highlands is one of the most architecturally rich areas of Harare, thanks to its founders the, Salisbury Real Estate Company, and most prominently, William D'Arcy Cathcart, a graduate of the Architectural Association of London, before he migrated to Salisbury (Harare) in 1910. Initially working for the Public Works Department, he left the following year to set up his own practice. His first project was a Tobacco Warehouse for the BSAC. In association with a few friends, he formed the Salisbury Real Estate Company that bought the Welmoed East Farm and developed in the early 1930s into the suburb of Highlands. D'Arcy Cathcart made such a mark architecturally, that he is regarded as one of the leading architects of 20th century Harare. He eschewed the then popular
Cape Dutch architecture Cape Dutch architecture is an architectural style primarily found in the Western Cape of South Africa, though modern adaptations have been constructed in regions such as Western Australia and New Zealand, typically on wine estates. The style e ...
and designed many buildings and residences that followed the English neoclassical, Georgian and the
Arts and Crafts movement The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and America. Initiat ...
styles. His own residence ''Chaninga House'', nestled on a prominent hill in the suburb, and ''Limbe Lodge'' best known as Governor's Lodge (now the public Services Training Center) – once home to the
Governor-General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...
of Rhodesia and Nyasaland are listed as heritage buildings. While most buildings and residences from post-
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
Rhodesia were simple pioneer types or Cape Dutch designs, Cathcart's designs of the National Employers Mutual General Assurance Building, and Town house made his firm extremely influential throughout the 1930s–1940s for municipal and government buildings. His practice later opened offices in
Mutare Mutare, formerly known as Umtali until 1982, is the capital and largest city in the province of Manicaland. It is the third most populated in Zimbabwe. Having surpassed Gweru in the 2012 census, with an urban area, urban population of 224,802 ...
,
Bulawayo Bulawayo (, ; ) is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council claimed it to be about ...
,
Ndola Ndola is the third largest city in Zambia in terms of size and population, with a population of 627,503 (''2022 census''), after the capital, Lusaka, and Kitwe, and the second largest in terms of infrastructure development after Lusaka. It is the I ...
and
Lusaka Lusaka ( ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was abo ...
. A founder member of the Institute of Southern Rhodesian Architects (now Institute of Architects Zimbabwe) and the chief influence on Highlands' layout and architecture, his legacy continues in his firm, now known as ''Pearce, McComish & Tarabuku Architects''. Modern Highlands is largely a leafy, residential neighbourhood in the shadow of the ZBC's Pockets Hill studios, composed primarily of single-family detached houses and
Edwardian In the United Kingdom, the Edwardian era was a period in the early 20th century that spanned the reign of King Edward VII from 1901 to 1910. It is commonly extended to the start of the First World War in 1914, during the early reign of King Ge ...
row houses, although Enterprise Road and Kamfinsa Shopping Centre are lined with apartment buildings, townhouses and lodges..


Education

Highlands is the location of several independent schools, including Highlands Junior School, and Abbeys Preparatory School. High school students tend to move on to Harare International School or
Chisipite Senior School Chisipite Senior School (or Chisipite) is an Independent school, independent Single-sex education, single-sex Secondary school, secondary Day school, day and Boarding school, boarding school for girls, located in Harare, Zimbabwe. The school is si ...
in Chisipite. Other notable institutions in the area include the Zimbabwe Institute of Management and the Culinary Arts Academy. The City of Harare Public Library system operates the Highlands Library on Kew Drive, which serves the neighbourhood. Other notable libraries in proximity to Highlands are Harare City Library and the Greendale Public Library in Greendale.


Historic landmarks

There are several historic landmarks in Highlands. Religious listings include Highlands
Presbyterian Church Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Christianity, Reformed Protestantism, Protestant tradition named for its form of ecclesiastical polity, church government by representative assemblies of Presbyterian polity#Elder, elders, known as ...
, which reflects the areas Scottish links, Highlands
Seventh-day Adventist The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbat ...
Church. Highlands Junior School is noted for its historical architecture.


References

{{Authority control 1927 establishments in Southern Rhodesia Suburbs of Harare