Newtown is a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. It is located in the capital city of

Gauteng Province Gauteng ( , ; Sotho-Tswana for 'place of gold'; or ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only 1.5% of the coun ...

and in Region F of the

City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality The City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality () is a metropolitan municipality that manages the local governance of Johannesburg, the largest city in South Africa. It is divided into several branches and departments in order to expedite se ...

. It has the

coordinates In geometry, a coordinate system is a system that uses one or more numbers, or coordinates, to uniquely determine and standardize the Position (geometry), position of the Point (geometry), points or other geometric elements on a manifold such as ...

of 26.204°S and 28.034°E. The suburb originated as a manufacturing district for brick production.

Historical background

In the early 20th century, the Newtown Precinct was named "the Brickfields". In 1896, approximately 7,000 people lived in the town. A number of industries developed at Brickfields, such as trade firms, banks, brick factories, a brewery, and fisheries. Immigrants from other nations, also settled in Brieckfields. In April 1904, Mahatma Gandi declared an outbreak of the

bubonic plague Bubonic plague is one of three types of Plague (disease), plague caused by the Bacteria, bacterium ''Yersinia pestis''. One to seven days after exposure to the bacteria, flu-like symptoms develop. These symptoms include fever, headaches, and ...

in Brickfield. The plague caused 82 fatalities and 112 people were reportedly diagnosed with it. The local government initiated the fire brigade to start fires within the town, aiming to cease the plague.

Turbine Hall

Originally built between 1927 and 1934, the

Turbine Hall The turbine hall, generating hall or turbine building is a building or room in any steam cycle or hydroelectric power plant which houses a number of components vital to the generation of electricity from the steam that comes from the boiler, or ...

became the largest "three steam-driven" power stations. It is situated in the middle of Newtown and has been deemed an iconic building in the art and culture precinct.

Cleanup

The Greater Newtown Construction was initiated by City of Johannesburg Municipality Council, which rehabilitated old suburb structures, enhanced public open spaces, and introduced closed-circuit television. Newtown's street lighting was designed by the French engineer

Patrick Rimoux Patrick Rimoux, born 17 March 1958 in France, is a light sculptor. He lives in Paris where he runs thPatrick Rimoux Agency Biography Patrick Rimoux is a contemporary artist and engineer, who works primarily with new French technologies. As a ...

Regeneration

Johannesburg City Council partnered with Gauteng Agency, Blue IQ, in a project to develop the community of Newtown. The project included building five housing developments in which Council states, " t willcater for different levels of income". The plan details that over 2,000 housing units will be built within a few years. The

Nelson Mandela Bridge Nelson Mandela Bridge is a bridge in Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Afric ...

, inaugurated on 20 July 2003, is the northern entrance to Newtown.

References

{{City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, selected=regf Chinatowns in Africa Chinese-South African culture Johannesburg Region F Tourist attractions in Johannesburg Urban decay in South Africa