The Greater Johannesburg Metropolitan Area is the official name of the area surrounding the city of Johannesburg, in South Africa. It includes Johannesburg and the areas of the East Rand and West Rand. It is sometimes also referred to as the Witwatersrand. As of 2005, it consists of different local government units, including Ekhuruleni (made up of the East Rand), Mogale City (parts of the West Rand) and Johannesburg. City motto: Unity in Development Province Gauteng Mayor Amos Masondo Area  - % water 1,644 km² 0. ... A map of Gauteng, showing the East Rand. ... A map of the West Rand. ... Witwatersrand is a low mountain range which runs through Gauteng in South Africa. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A map of Gauteng, showing the East Rand. ... A map of the West Rand. ... City motto: Unity in Development Province Gauteng Mayor Amos Masondo Area  - % water 1,644 km² 0. ...

The metropolitan area is roughly elliptical in shape, with more development around the core city of Johannesburg. The area stretches almost 100 kilometres (60 miles) east-west from Randfontein to Nigel, and some 60 kilometres (37 miles) north-south from Midrand to Orange Farm and Vosloorus. The contiguous built-up urban area is listed as being 1,300km² (502 mi²) in land size, which is by far the largest city in Africa in terms of urban sprawl. Randfontein is a gold mining town in the western Gauteng, South Africa. ... Midrand is a town located in the Johannesburg conurbation in Gauteng Province, South Africa. ... Orange Farm is a suburb of Johannesburg, Gauteng Province, South Africa. ... Vosloorus is a township situated in Boksburg just east of Katlehong on the east Rand, Gauteng, South Africa. ... Urban area is a term used to define an area where there is an increased density of man-made structures in comparison to the areas surrounding it. ... Urban sprawl is a term for the expansive, rapid, and sometimes reckless, growth of a greater metropolitan area, traditionally suburbs (or exurbs) over a large area. ...

Greater Johannesburg's growth was largely based initially on the discovery of gold, and the urban area runs the length of the gold-bearing reef from east to west. In the past 30 years, there has been considerable growth to the north, as Johannesburg has expanded. Sandton, created as a separate municipal area north of Johannesburg in 1969, is where much of the new business growth has taken place. Central Sandton Sandton is a town in the northern part of the Greater Johannesburg Metropolitan Area, South Africa in the Gauteng Province. ...

In keeping with the definition of a metropolitan area, Johannesburg is multi-nodal, with several centres which are important within their own right: these include Sandton, Randburg, Midrand, Germiston, Roodepoort, Kempton Park, Boksburg, Benoni and Springs. The urban area is often described as having an inner urban core and an outer core, with the focal point being the Johannesburg CBD. A metropolitan area is a large population center consisting of a large city and its adjacent zone of influence, or of several neighboring cities or towns and adjoining areas, with one or more large cities serving as its hub or hubs. ... Central Sandton Sandton is a town in the northern part of the Greater Johannesburg Metropolitan Area, South Africa in the Gauteng Province. ... Randburg is a city in Gauteng, South Africa. ... Germiston in the East Rand of Gauteng is South Africas sixth largest city with 70% of the western worlds gold passing through its gold refinery. ... Roodepoort is a city in Gauteng Province, South Africa. ... Kempton Park is a town on the East Rand in Gauteng, South Africa. ... Boksburg is a city on the East Rand of Gauteng, South Africa. ... Benoni is a town in the South African province of Gauteng. ... Springs is a city in Gauteng province, South Africa and is part of the East Rand region. ...

The case for including the East and West Rand in Johannesburg, as well as Soweto, is based on a number of factors: Johannesburg, including Soweto, from the International Space Station Soweto is an urban area in Johannesburg, in Gauteng province South Africa whose northern boundary begins about 15km south-west of central Johannesburg. ...

• The area shares the same dialling code (011).
• The East Rand and Soweto campuses of the former Vista University are incorporated into the University of Johannesburg.
• Johannesburg International Airport is located on the East Rand.
• Residents from both the East and West Rand often work in Johannesburg.
• The areas are not only strongly linked economically, but existing transport axes have also created strong functional links between Johannesburg and its hinterland.
• Transport routes between Johannesburg, East and West Rand share the same metropolitan route numbering system.

Over the years, Johannesburg and Pretoria (the Tshwane metropolitan area) have also been growing together, and the two cities share a common border. Questions have been raised as to whether they are beginning to function as one, and if this constitutes an extension of the metropolitan area to include Pretoria. Research suggests, however, that Pretoria is a metropolitan area in its own right, and that Johannesburg and Pretoria actually form the start of a megalopolitan system, with Johannesburg as its apex. The inclusion of another major metropolitan area to the south of Johannesburg, the Vaal Triangle, also forms part of this megalopolis, as a concept first coined and defined by French geographer Jean Gottmann. A telephone numbering plan is a system that allows subscribers to make and receive telephone calls across long distances. ... Vista University, South Africa was established in 1981[1] by the apartheid government to ensure that urban black South Africans seeking tertiary education would be accommodated within the townships rather than on campuses reserved for other population groups[2]. Its campuses were based in Bloemfontein[3], Daveyton (East Rand), Mamelodi... The University of Johannesburg is a university located in Johannesburg, South Africa. ... Johannesburg International Airport (IATA: JNB,ICAO: FAJS) is a large airport near the city of Johannesburg, South Africa and one of the largest airports in Sub-Saharan Africa. ... City motto: Praestantia Praevaleat Pretoria (May Pretoria Be Pre-eminent In Excellence) Province Gauteng Area  - % water 1,644 km² 0. ... The City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality is a metropolitan area contained mostly in the province of Gauteng, South Africa, that includes the city of Pretoria. ... The Vaal Triangle is a triangular area of land formed by Vereeniging, Vanderbijlpark and Sasolburg - three small cities that together comprise a substantial urban complex in South Africa. ... Megalopolis (Greek: large city, great city) can mean: The city of Megalópoli (Μεγαλοπολη), Megalopolis, Greece. ... Jean Gottmann (October 10, 1915 – February 28, 1994) was a French geographer who was most widely known for coining the term megalopolis to describe the condition of the Boston-Washington corridor. ...

Johannesburg is listed as having a metropolitan area population of almost 8 million, about two fifths the size of Greater New York. A metropolitan area is a large population center consisting of a large city and its adjacent zone of influence, or of several neighboring cities or towns and adjoining areas, with one or more large cities serving as its hub or hubs. ... The metropolitan area of New York City, also called Greater New York or Greater New York City encompasses the New York--Northern New Jersey--Long Island, NY--NJ--CT--PA Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area (CMSA). ...

See also

• Municipal Demarcation Board [1]