Why the world raves about Jozi
27-11-2014
Johannesburg’s stature on the global stage is on the ascendancy – and it is not difficult to figure out why.
The city has over the past few weeks been showered with accolades from many quarters around the world. It has also been featured in several highly acclaimed international publications, enhancing its profile as a leading urban centre on the African continent and international platforms.
The recent election of Johannesburg Executive Mayor Councillor Parks Tau in Hyderabad in India as co-president of Metropolis, a 140-strong international forum of large urban centres, probably confirms how highly regarded the city is globally.
Well-known for hosting major international conferences, such as the United Nations’ Summit on Sustainable Development, the Metropolis Summit, C40 Mayors Summit, One Young World Summit and Meetings Africa, it came as no surprise when the 2014 MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index ranked Johannesburg as the most-visited city in Africa for the second year running, followed by Cape Town.
An estimated 4.3 million international overnight travellers are expected to visit Johannesburg this year, a 4% increase on last year’s total of 4.1 million visitors.
According to the index, Johannesburg also comes out tops in Africa as far as international visitor expenditure is concerned. This year travellers are expected to spend $3.2 billion compared with $3.06 billion spent in the city last year.
Says Mayor Tau: “We believe that visitors continue to flock to Johannesburg because beyond business and meetings, it is a truly cosmopolitan and vibrant destination where various cultures live and celebrate side by side; a city rich in music, fashion, the arts, heritage and culture.”
Talking about the arts, Johannesburg’s arts scene is thriving and continues to draw international attention.
Prominent arts publisher Phaidon has just released a book titled Art Cities of the Future that names Johannesburg as one of 12 cities that will shake up the art world in the 21st century.
The book features cities chosen for their impact on contemporary art, history of art, importance and the overall cultural climate. These cities include Singapore, Istanbul, Seoul and Vancouver.
The Wall Street Journal also featured Joburg as one of the world’s “Four Emerging Art Cities You Should Know”.
The city is – along with art contemporaries Bogota, Budapest and Seoul – noted for its ever-increasing creative and artistic presence in the global arena.
Johannesburg has also been rated the second-most inspiring city in the world by Good magazine’s annual Good City Index – just behind Hong Kong.
Good magazine is an American quarterly publication that promotes social cohesion and positive action, while the Good City Index celebrates and acknowledges cities that are progressive, both contradictory and surprising but mostly inspirational.
The publication describes the index as a “celebration of the cities around the world that best capture the elusive quality of possibility, the pervading sense that although a place may be far from perfect, its citizens are taking a bold stake in its future through a mixture of creativity, hustle and civic engagement”.
Despite the challenges Johannesburg faces, the magazine describes it as “good at finding new, sometimes unorthodox ways to fix itself, like freeing owls in the townships and starting a youth photography skills development programme called ‘I wasshot in Joburg:)’.”
Johannesburg’s inspirational gems that caught the attention of the magazine include Newtown, Braamfontein and the Maboneng precincts. Soweto’s greening and civil upliftment initiatives, as well as its 5km bicycle track and sidewalk in Orlando East, are among a host of things the magazine raves about.
Another accolade the city has recently received is from Travelstart, one of Africa’s largest online booking websites, which describes it as the “best African city to live in”.
The website also says Johannesburg is “an amazing city to live in” for its numerous investment and career opportunities, clean and liveable environments and world-class hotels and restaurants.
This is well and good, we hear you say, but it counts for nothing if the city remains one of most dangerous places in the world.
Everyone agrees that crime is one of the biggest challenges facing Johannesburg. But is Johannesburg really the most dangerous city in the world?
Mexico’s Citizens’ Council for Public Security and Criminal Justice has just released a list of 50 of the world’s most-violent cities and, guess what, Johannesburg is not among them.
Instead, the ranking features three other South African cities. Cape Town, with an average of 50.94 murders per 100 000 residents, is No 20 on the list. The other two are Port Elizabeth on No 42, with 35.76 murders per 100 000 residents, and Durban on No 49, with 32.42 murders per 100 000 residents.
The study rates San Pedro Sula in Honduras as the most-violent city in the world, with 187.14 murders per 100 000 residents, followed by Caracas in Venezuela (134.36) and Acapulco in Mexico (112.8).
The city is known for continuously reinvigorating itself, its multibillion rand investment in infrastructure is certainly not only going to boost international reputation but it will also, most importantly, enhance the quality of life of all those who live, play and work in it.