3.1 STATUS QUO
- The precinct is located adjacent to the inner city area of the city of Johannesburg on the part of the ridge and valley system, which forms the natural divide between the northern areas and the city centre. The precinct is of historical and architectural significant since it is part of the older residential areas of Johannesburg in which a number of architectural developments can be traced. The topographical prominence, dense vegetation and metropolitan open space system also makes the precinct environmentally important.
Many other city suburbs are undergoing changes and transformation with an objective aim of retaining a stable, functioning, mixed and diverse city context in terms of the kind of people, the type of development and the complexity of facilities and amenities which benefit the city as a whole. These evolution processes either result in establishing desirable areas or deteriorate the urban fabric and the environment.
(b) Regional Context (MAP 1)
The precinct falls within the central to northern parts of the Administrative Region 4, which sits almost exactly in the middle of the Greater Johannesburg. Region 4 is further divided into 14 sub areas and the precinct under consideration falls under sub area 9.
Its definition of the boundaries includes the following neighbourhoods: Emmarentia, Greenside, Greenside East and Parkview. The edges of the precincts are vastly different, in the north it is bounded by Tana/Victory Road, in the south it is bounded by the Melville Koppies, in the west it is bounded by Beyers Naude Drive and the east edge is demarcated by Lower Park Drive.
