Behind high walls, new South African city proud to be a world apart
Steyn City’s developers say it will cater for many ordinary middle-class families of all races
Green, tidy, with safe public areas and winding bicycle paths — Steyn City is a vast “self-sufficient” development outside Johannesburg, that highlights growing controversy over South Africa’s divided urban society.
The 800-hectare site, surrounded by high walls, is being marketed as a luxury, car-free settlement that will provide everything from a hospital to golf courses, shopping malls and offices.
“Enough amenities to declare independence,” is the unabashed official slogan for Steyn City, where about 250 of the 10,000 planned homes have been completed.
The slogan only fuels accusations that wealthy South Africans are retreating into everlarger “gated communities” to escape the country’s dire security and poverty problems. But Steyn City’s developers say it will cater for many ordinary middleclass families of all races, and could become a flagship for future new cities in Africa.
‘Cars are the enemy’
Symbolising the estate’s upmarket brand is founder Douw Steyn’s imposing hilltop house, which boasts waterfalls, terraced gardens and panoramic views over the site.
“Mr Steyn told me to build best city in the world,” Giuseppe Plumari, the Italian-born CEO of the project, said during a tour, describing it as a place “to live, work and play”.
“Cars are the enemy today. Running routes, boardwalks, horse riding trails, cycling trails, outdoor gyms, climbing walls, fishing ponds — you name it, we’ve got it,” he said.
“And we make it accessible to everyone, because we’ve got apartments, starting with only one bedroom, up to Mr Steyn’s mansion — the ultimate home.”
The cheapest apartments will be rented for about $1,000 (Dh3,670) a month.
“Very accessible if you have a decent job,” said Plumari.
Raymond Mathlaba, a gardener at Steyn City, might disagree.
He earns $200 a month, and lives just a few kilometres away in Diepsloot, one of Johannesburg’s most troubled and poverty-stricken shantytowns. “Working at Steyn City is a good thing for me, but I feel very sad when I come back home,” he said in front of the small tin shack he shares with his brother.
“I look at the people staying there in their houses, and then I see where I stay here, which is a very dangerous place.”
Steyn City’s developers say they have already created jobs for 12,000 people.
If all goes to plan, children will soon play outside, and pedestrians and cyclists will rule the tranquil roads — rare scenes in South Africa’s suburbs where electrical security fences and CCTV cameras are the norm.