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What does the name Kliptown mean?
Kliptown is the oldest residential district of Soweto, and was first laid out in 1891 on land which formed part of Klipspruit farm. The farm was named after the klipspruit (rocky stream) that runs nearby.
When was Kliptown built?
1891
Kliptown is the oldest residential area of Soweto. It was formed in 1891 on land which formed part of Klipspruit Farm. The farm was named after the nearby Klipspruit, or rocky stream. It was a squatter camp by 1903, but today is made up of RDP and subsidised housing.
Is Kliptown a settlement?
Established in 1903, Kliptown is the oldest urban settlement in the Johannesburg area to accommodate people of all races. It is a sprawling collection of settlements with a thriving informal business sector. Many people from Soweto do their shopping in Kliptown.
Is Vilakazi Street open?
Vilakazi Street is now open for everyone (Photo: Enoch Lehung, City of Johannesburg)MMC Ros Greeff officially opens Vilakazi Street (Photo: Enoch Lehung, City of Johannesburg)In the past, its stories were narrated by tour guides and historians; but now, its history is written all over the street for anybody who is …
What is Kliptown known for?
Kliptown is the oldest district in Soweto, famous as the site known as the Congress of the People, where 3 000 gathered together in 1955 to write the Freedom Charter. It later served as the basis for South Africa’s liberal constitution.
What type of settlement is Kliptown?
Kliptown is a mixed-use district, centering around Freedom Square (the Walter Sisulu Square of Dedication). The most dominant land use in the region is residential housing with rental housing (including flats, backyard shacks, and hostels) being the most common form of tenure in the broader region.
What led to the development of Kliptown?
In 1996, government developed a plan for Kliptown, in which the Greater Kliptown Development Framework proposed ways of boosting Freedom Square — now the Walter Sisulu Square of Dedication (WSSD), as a historical tourism site, with a museum, public spaces, a park, a range of shops and informal trading sites.
What is the geographical problem of Kliptown?
Kliptown, the place where the Freedom Charter was signed in 1955, is deteriorating by the day. The historic suburb in Soweto, is being stripped of its infrastructure such electrical cables, water pipes, and paving bricks. The City of Johannesburg has promised to restore the place to its former glory.
What happened at Vilakazi Street?
A few blocks from Vilakazi Street is the Hector Pieterson Memorial and Museum, built to commemorate the 1976 Soweto Uprising, when about 20 000 Soweto school children marched against the forced use of Afrikaans as a medium of instruction in local schools. The police reacted brutally, killing many young protesters.
What does Kliptown Youth Program do?
KYP’s mission is to provide opportunities that will enable our young people to rise out of poverty. We seek to develop young and dynamic individuals who are willing to contribute effectively for the betterment of their community.
What are the different types of land use in Kliptown?
Where is Kliptown in Gauteng, South Africa located?
/ -26.284; 27.887 Kliptown is a suburb of the formerly black township of Soweto in Gauteng, South Africa, located about 17 km south-west of Johannesburg. Kliptown is the oldest residential district of Soweto, and was first laid out in 1891 on land which formed part of Klipspruit farm.
When was the Freedom Monument in Kliptown built?
Construction began in June 2003 and the monument was opened on the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Charter in June 2005. Conical monument contains the 10 principals of the Freedom Charter engraved in bronze. Source Gauteng.net
If one Googles ‘Kliptown’, the first thing that comes up is the Congress of the People and the 1955 signing of the Freedom Charter. It is this iconic event that is linked to Kliptown rather than what I have written about above or will mention below. In addition it is this history and the Square which is the focus of Soweto tour groups.
How did the Kliptown farm get its name?
The farm was named after the klipspruit (rocky stream) that runs nearby. From 1903 the area was home to informal settlements (squatter camps), and the area now contains a mixture of purpose-built housing and many shacks and other informal homes which form the Chris Hani and Dlamini settlements.