What do sustainable cities mean to you? For many, it is about more than just green spaces and clean air. Sustainable cities are the nexus where innovative solutions converge to create resilient communities, fostering a delicate balance between economic prosperity, ecological integrity, and social equity.
Like many cities in the world, Johannesburg is struggling to provide basic services to its people – from clean air and water to reliable public transport and safe, affordable housing. As a result of this unprecedented urban growth, carbon emissions are on the rise and pressures on vital ecosystems are intensifying. There is a need for a sustainable district that are designed to address social, environmental and economic impact through urban planning and city management.
Maboneng is such a district… on becoming Joburg’s most unique and innovative area, offering live / work and entertainment opportunities within a fully integrated urban environment.
Maboneng, is a seSotho word meaning “place of light”, a fitting name for a district that has fast become a centre of creative energy for Johannesburg’s urban artists. The vision for Maboneng is to evolve the precinct, revolutionising a significant portion of Johannesburg’s inner city and incorporating business, housing and creative spaces for use by people from all walks of life.
This magical urban neighbourhood is the centre of creative energy with a mix of restaurants, coffee shops, clothing boutiques, art galleries, retail and studio space. The precinct draws the inner-city public as well as the chic, art-going crowd of the city’s suburbs, bringing life back to this downtown Johannesburg neighbourhood.
A collection of old manufacturing buildings retrofitted with steel, glass and concrete. These original buildings fitted with welcoming street facing retail, commercial workspaces and artist studios juxtaposed with additions of more unconventional modern architecture rising upwards – making the neighbourhood more dense with additional levels of residential loft apartments and double volume penthouses… This is the making of Maboneng.
The renewal of what is now considered a contemporary urban space filled with the character and the charm of the older buildings that were given a second life, bringing the soul and heart of Johannesburg out though a new community of South Africans who now live, work and play in the city.
Maboneng has indeed brought new light to the city.
