Johannesburg is the 2nd 'most inspiring city' in the World

WATERING HOLE: The Zebra Inn near the Maboneng precinct
Image by: LAUREN MULLIGAN

 The study on the world's Most Inspiring Cities was conducted by the global Good magazine.

The Johannesburg Metro is one of only three African cities to feature in the magazine's Top 20 list. The others are Nairobi in Kenya, which is perched at number five, while Dakar in Senegal is in position nine.


"This is a humbling accolade," Executive Mayor Parks Tau said in a statement, "particularly because it comes in less than a month after the 2014 MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index announced us, the City of Johannesburg, as the most popular destination city in Africa for a second consecutive year".

"This shows that our efforts as a city at work to promote socio-economic transformation are making an impact, not only locally, but also internationally," Tau said.

The Good magazine’s editors describe the Good City Index as “a celebration of the 50 cities around the world that best capture the elusive quality of possibility”.

Johannesburg-based writer Sylvia EK McKeown says in her commentary that “it’s to Joburg’s advantage that, distracted by Cape Town, people don’t seem to pay as much attention to it as they should”.

By occupying the second spot on the Good City Index, Johannesburg has outclassed cities such as Mexico City (third place), New Orleans in the United States (seventh), Montreal in Canada (12th), Melbourne in Australia (14th), Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (19th) and Seoul in South Korea (20th) as far as the creation of inspiration is concerned.

Paris occupies the 22nd spot, Cape Town 25th, Atlanta 30th and Warsaw 50th.

Some of the things that swayed the votes of judges in Joburg’s way include the urban regeneration projects the City is undertaking, such as:

• Bike lanes in Soweto,
• Mixed-use development in the once-rundown area of Newtown,
• The Joburg Art Fair,
• Diepsloot Mountain Biking Academy,
• Dlala Nje, a space encouraging children from three in the inner city to come together, and
• The vibey Maboneng precinct.

McKeown also hailed Braamfontein, as “the perfect illustration of a racially integrated South Africa; a breeding ground of creativity and innovation packed full of galleries, artist spaces, bars and start-ups focused on making meaningful connections with the man on the street”.

Source- Times