Soweto

Municipality

Municipality: City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality

Name

Soweto is an acronym for South Western Townships because it is located south-west of Johannesburg

Attractions

History

Soweto was developed in 1950 during the apartheid era as a temporary township for laborers and mineworkers. As it was regarded as a temporary arrangement, almost no proper infrastructure was developed, resulting in poor living conditions. This has been addressed since the 1990s. Today more people live in Soweto than in Johannesburg itself (i.e. not the greater Johannesburg area, of course), but Soweto is still mainly a residential area with few shops and little commercial activity compared to other cities.

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