Quote:
Originally Posted by yuriandrade
Johannesburg, is very remarkable as a huge chunk of the city, suburbs and CBD, looks more a major US city than many US cities themselves. lol
I'd say though their suburban houses, in general, are a bit better built than in the US. South African gardens strike me as more elaborate.
|
Yeah I was going to nominate Joburg in particular as quite American looking (probably more Australian, but still) across a very large swath of the city. Even townships are laid out in the stereotypical manner of a North American suburb.
This was one of my first views of the city on my first trip to South Africa and I remember thinking it looked very much like southern California:
Outside of the suburbs the CBD actually looks a bit similar to older parts of downtown LA, despite being intentionally stylized after NYC:
https://goo.gl/maps/dGhj8Y6551Ngk3CX7
Strangely enough the suburban commercial nodes like Sandton and Rosebank may be more dissimilar from a built-form perspective as there's relatively little suburban parking and most complexes are interconnected. The architecture is certainly familiar though. Older residential areas probably looked more American before the walls went up, but there's a massive amount of Art Deco as well as styles like Arts and Crafts.
Not sure I'd say suburban houses are more well built, but they are quite solid as cinderblock tends to be the primary wall material. The finishing can range from incredible to atrocious in new housing complexes of a similar price point. Gardens tend to be quite nice as it's generally expected to pay for a gardener to visit at least twice a week if you live in a suburban home (if you rent it's almost always included).