The next ten years will be decisive for the city of Johannesburg in the competition with other cities such as Shanghai, London, Sao Paulo and Mexico City. Although it is South Africa’s most global metropolis, with regard to its development, it lags behind other comparable cities.

Johannesburg’s main problem is its high level of crime, affecting practically all aspects of its inhabitants’ lives. If people cannot regain a sense of personal security, Johannesburg’s seemingly dead city centre will never be revived. Neither will the new trend towards renovating old houses in the city centre and erecting apartments help as, owing to the level of brutality on the streets, tenants have failed to appear. Those who can afford to do so have long moved out to Johannesburg’s suburbs where they live behind sturdy electric fences.

These and other issues, but also the opportunities facing the city of Johannesburg were discussed by both international and local experts attending the conference on the basis of their experiences in New York, Shanghai, London and Mexico City.