JOHANNESBURG

Kendell Geers 1968
Born South Africa, works Belgium
Suburbia 1999
Framed C-prints
Courtesy the artist, Stephen Friedman Gallery and Galleria Continua
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Johannesburg’s multi-ethnic population comprises 73% black African, 16% white, 6% mixed race and 4% Indian or Asian. Since the end of apartheid in 1994 Johannesburg has grown by 4% a year. In recent years there has been an increase in immigration from the rest of the continent to South Africa, particularly to Johannesburg. This has visibly affected many dimensions of city life, including its economy, housing and infrastructure demands, and social integration – with various outcomes. Johannesburg’s history of racial separation is still reflected in its social geography. Whites (a demographic minority) tend to occupy the northern leafy suburbs, where they are being joined by an emerging black middle class. Less affluent black Africans, traditionally relegated to townships, and migrants from elsewhere on the continent have moved into the now-deprived downtown area.

Crime, the ongoing rampant HIV/AIDS epidemic and a lack of safe public transport are key concerns. Life expectancy is notably low: only 4% of residents reach 65 and the average age for a male is 52 years. Almost one in three is under 20. Currently one household in five has no income; unemployment hovers around 600,000 people.

PROJECT: FARADAY STATION PRECINCT The Faraday Station Precinct is the hub of a new integrated transport system for a population previously badly served by the city’s social and physical infrastructure. The precinct, built above an existing commuter rail system, incorporates formal taxi ranks for the otherwise unregulated long distance and local minibuses which provide the cheapest mode of transport. It is also notable for providing safer, more formalised facilities for herb sellers and healers using traditional medicines or muti.

DESIGNERS: ALBONICA SACK MZUMARA ARCHITECTS & URBAN DESIGNERS, WITH MMA ARCHITECTS CLIENTS: CITY OF JOHANNESBURG AND THE JOHANNESBURG DEVELOPMENT AGENCY COMPLETION DATE: 2003

Guy Tillim 1962
Born and works South Africa
Jo’burg 2004–5
View of Hillbrow looking north from the roof of the Mariston Hotel
Framed photographs; archival pigment ink
on cotton paper
Courtesy the artist and Michael Stevenson Gallery, Cape Town
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Guy Tillim 1962
Born and works South Africa
Jo’burg 2004–5
Al’s Tower, a block of flats on Harrow Road, Berea, overlooking the Ponte building
Framed photographs; archival pigment ink on cotton paper
Courtesy the artist and Michael Stevenson Gallery, Cape Town
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Guy Tillim 1962
Born and works South Africa
Jo’burg 2004–5
The roof of Sherwood Heights, Smit Street
Framed photographs; archival pigment ink on cotton paper
Courtesy the artist and Michael Stevenson Gallery, Cape Town
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Guy Tillim 1962
Born and works South Africa
Jo’burg 2004–5
On the roof of Jeanwell House on Nugget Street
Framed photographs; archival pigment ink on cotton paper
Courtesy the artist and Michael Stevenson Gallery, Cape Town
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LONDON

Much of London’s recent growth is due to international inward migration, which partially counterbalances the numbers of mostly British-born households leaving the city. 95% of those moving to London since 1995 were born outside the UK.

Nearly a third of London’s residents are from non-white minority ethnic communities. Concentrations are found in three regions: south of the river Thames in Lambeth, Southwark and Croydon; along a corridor from the East End to East Ham; and to the west and north-west. In some areas, ethnic minorities make up over half the population.

London is the UK’s economic powerhouse, with global importance as a finance and business centre; nearly 90% of its residents work in services. But its wealth belies the levels of poverty in its inner city areas, where social housing is concentrated, and ‘key workers’ struggle to find affordable accommodation near their workplaces.

LOS ANGELES

Dean Sameshima 1971
Born and works USA
Wonderland 1995–7
Untitled (Closed)
Collection of Javier and Carlos Andres Peres, Los Angeles and Andorra.
Courtesy of Alison Jacques Gallery, London and Peres Projects, Los Angeles Berlin
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Los Angeles is a ‘minority majority’ metropolis. Half its residents are Latinos (three times the US average), and over 10% of Asian descent. Only 30% identify themselves as Anglophone white. About 40% were born outside the United States – nearly four times the national average.

Some of the city’s ethnic groups congregate in specific sections of the city such as Korea Town, Boyle Heights (Chicanos) and Glendale (Armenians), but most neighbourhoods host a mix of races. The city’s political representation reflects this diversity, though some friction remains.

Los Angeles is home to some of the wealthiest people in the world, but more than 20% of its families live in poverty. Most workers are employed in business and services, but Los Angeles also maintains a solid industrial base. The unemployed tend to congregate in former industrial areas, with newer concentrations emerging in aging suburbs and high-growth peripheral areas.

SAO PAULO

Francesco Jodice 1967
Born and works Italy
São Paulo - Citytellers 2006
Video still
Running time: 48 minutes
Courtesy the artist and UniCredit Group Collection
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Andreas Gursky 1955
Born and works Germany
Copan 2002
Framed C-print
Courtesy Monika Sprüth Philomene Magers, Cologne Munich London
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Sao Paulo is ethnically diverse and young: 66% of its population is under 20. The city has remained multicultural since the nineteenth century, when the region’s coffee plantations attracted workers from Spain, Portugal and Japan. Many residents are of mixed ethnic origins, descendants of migrants from many parts of the world. It is said that Sao Paulo is the largest Japanese city outside Japan, the largest Portuguese city outside Portugal, the largest Spanish city outside Spain, and the largest Lebanese city outside Lebanon. More recent migrants from Brazil’s poorest north-east regions form a large proportion of the city’s low-paid service workers.

Sao Paulo is prosperous compared to the rest of Brazil, but poverty, unemployment and crime remain major challenges. In contrast, the city’s wealthy population is reflected by its more than 1,000 private helicopters, a rate of ownership similar to New York City and Tokyo.

The population of the central district has declined steadily since the 1970s. Despite ambitious revitalisation plans, wealthy residents and businesses still move out. The population is growing most in peripheral areas with the poorest infrastructure.

PROJECT: 100 NEW SCHOOLS FOR SAO PAULO In 2000, the school attendance rate of 11-14 year olds in peripheral urban neighbourhoods of Sao Paulo State was roughly 20%. A lack of school facilities compounded the problem.

The initiative to erect 100 new schools is a direct response to this challenge. The same construction guidelines apply to every site: a high-quality design, simple pre-fabricated structures and durable materials. Projects have low costs and short turn-around times. Beyond its educational role, the scheme has also provided after-hours, multi-purpose spaces for the local communities. Nearly 30 projects have been completed to date.

ARCHITECTS FOR THREE SELECTED PROJECTS: MMBB ARQUITETOS (CONJUNTO HABITACIONAL CAMPINAS F1 SCHOOL); ESTUDIO 6 ARQUITETOS (JARDIM UMUARAMA/MOACYR DE CASTRO FERRAZ SCHOOL); SPBR ARQUITETOS (JARDIM ATALIBA LEONEL/PEDRO DE MORAES VICTOR SCHOOL) CLIENT: FOUNDATION FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATION (FDE), STATE OF SAO PAULO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION DATES: 2003 - ONGOING

SHANGHAI

After the homogeneous social levelling of the Mao period, Shanghai has recently become a more diverse society. Only 0.7% of its population was born outside China, but its social mix is deepened by influxes of overseas Chinese, Western and Asian expatriates and domestic economic migrants. Levels of inequality are now as marked as when the city was an international concession before 1941.

Shanghai has a low fertility rate and an aging population; 17% of residents are 65 or older. Its growth is driven by inward migration, particularly from rural areas. This ‘floating population’ – about 4 million people – helps meet the demand for low-wage labour. But it also tests the city’s capacity for social inclusion and integration; ‘floating’ workers, lacking official status, often live in makeshift accommodation and have only limited access to social services.