Springs | |
|---|---|
 Downtown Springs Skyline | |
  Springs  Springs | |
| Coordinates: 26°15′17″S 28°26′34″E / 26.25472°S 28.44278°E | |
| Country | South Africa |
| Province | Gauteng |
| Municipality | Ekurhuleni |
| Established | 1904 |
| Area | |
• Total | 183.50 km2 (70.85 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 1,627 m (5,338 ft) |
| Population (2011)[1] | |
• Total | 121,610 |
| • Density | 660/km2 (1,700/sq mi) |
| Racial makeup (2011) | |
| • Black African | 57.5% |
| • Coloured | 1.4% |
| • Indian/Asian | 4.4% |
| • White | 36.2% |
| • Other | 0.5% |
| First languages (2011) | |
| • Afrikaans | 30.2% |
| • Zulu | 20.6% |
| • English | 15.7% |
| • Northern Sotho | 8.0% |
| • Other | 25.4% |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (SAST) |
| Postal code (street) | 1559; 1576; 1578 |
| PO box | 1555 – 1559; 1560 – 1575; 1577 -1579 |
| Area code | 011 |
Springs is a former independent city that is now part of the City of Ekurhuleni, based in the east of Johannesburg (East Rand), in Gauteng Province, South Africa. It lies 50 km (31 mi) east of Johannesburg and 72 km (45 mi) southeast from Pretoria. Its name derives from the large number of springs in the area, and its estimated population is more than 121,610 in 2011. It is situated at 1,628 m (5,341 ft) above sea level.[2]
During the apartheid-era, the city was racially segregated under the Group Areas Act.[3] These consisted of middle and upper-income white suburbs around the city centre and the Indian area of Bakerton east of the CBD. A community of black Africans were living in a "black spot" of Springs known as Payneville.[3] The Town Council ordered the creation of a new black township to relieve overcrowding in Payneville.[3] In the 1950s the residents were forcibly removed and relocated to the newly created, KwaThema, southwest of the CBD.[4][3]
Springs has a high concentration of Art Deco architecture. After Miami in Florida, it has the highest number of small-scale Art Deco buildings in the world.[5][6]
Nadine Gordimer (1923 - 2014), the first South African Nobel Laureate in Literature (1991), was born and raised in Springs.[7]
- ^ a b c d "Main Place Springs". Census 2011.
- ^ "Google Earth". Retrieved 16 March 2007.
- ^ a b c d Cane, Jonathan (1974). Civilising Grass: The Art of the Lawn on the South African Highveld. pp. 110–11.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|author-publisher=ignored (help) - ^ "KwaThema History". Retrieved 7 October 2008.
- ^ Springs - Art Deco's Love Child The Heritage Portal. 24 November 2015
- ^ Johannesburg trying to follow Miami with its Art Deco revival The Christian Science Monitor. 23 October 2000
- ^ Nadine Gordimer obituary The Guardian. 15 July 2014