Southern Suburbs, Cape Town


The Southern Suburbs are a group of suburbs in Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa. This group includes, among others, Observatory, Mowbray, Pinelands, Rosebank, Rondebosch, Rondebosch East, Newlands, Claremont, Lansdowne, Kenilworth, Bishopscourt, Constantia, Wynberg, Ottery, Plumstead, Diep River, Bergvliet and Tokai.

History

During the Apartheid era, the Southern Suburbs were predominantly "whites only" residential areas.

Geography

Cape Town's Southern Suburbs lie to the Southeast of the slopes of Table Mountain within rich valleys and vast plains reaching from just south of the Table Bay industrial neighbourhoods in the north to the False Bay coastal suburbs and the Cape Peninsula cliffs to the south, and are crossed North-South by the M3 and M5 freeways. In general, this area is identified as being the more affluent of the Cape Town Metropolis' sections and includes the city's most expensive residential neighbourhoods.

Commerce

The suburb of Claremont is an important commercial hub in the Southern Suburbs and is the location of several shopping malls. Some of the well-known malls include Cavendish Square and Stadium on Main.

Demographics

The majority of the Southern Suburbs' just over 205,000 inhabitants is white English-speaking.

Education

The Southern Suburbs are popular among students, especially between Woodstock and Wynberg, due to their proximity to the University of Cape Town. Other tertiary education institutions in the area include Varsity College, AFDA, Cape Audio College, Damelin Mowbray, and The South African School of Applied Psychology.

Language

The Southern Suburbs is a predominantly English-speaking region of Cape Town whereas the Northern Suburbs is a predominantly Afrikaans-speaking region. The Northern Suburbs lie behind the 'Boerewors Curtain' which distincts between the English-speaking Southern Suburbs and the Afrikaans-speaking Northern Suburbs.

Transport

One of the most well-known roads in the Southern Suburbs is the historic Main Road, which starts in the City Bowl and goes through Observatory, Mowbray, Rondebosch, Newlands, Claremont, Kenilworth, Wynberg, Plumstead, Diep River, Bergvliet, Muizenberg, and then onwards to Simon's Town.