Johannesburg

Johannesburg developed from gold mining into a major business centre, but the former mining belt remains a significant feature of its urban structure. Its east–west extent separates parts of the metropolitan area and includes land whose redevelopment presents environmental and spatial challenges. The city also retains the distances and divisions created by apartheid planning.

Municipal proposals for the Corridors of Freedom have sought to connect residential areas with jobs and services through public transport and more concentrated development. Strategic frameworks cover routes such as Empire–Perth and Louis Botha, alongside precincts in Soweto. Research examines both their possibilities and their limits. Johannesburg's urban character is therefore shaped by mining land, dispersed opportunities and continuing attempts to improve connections between unequal neighbourhoods.