Jozi: before and after

FAST FALLING APART: LACK OF MAINTENANCE BY CITY DEPARTMENTS

Johannesburg's decline into ruin continues, with zero evidence it will be stemmed anytime soon. Colleagues, clients, acquaintances, friends and former residents who don't visit the city frequently are shocked when they see the state most of the metro is in.

Much of the decay is due to reinstatements by Joburg Water or City Power not done, plus non-existent maintenance by other city entities.

The so-called boiling frog syndrome means that by and large residents don't notice how bad it has become.

A new page on X, Jozi vs Jozi paints what it terms a "harrowing picture" using images from Google Maps' Street View feature from 2013 and 2023 (the latest update).

"Over the past 10 years, Johannesburg has deteriorated to the point that it resembles a city affected by armed conflict," writes the anonymous author behind the account.

"The decay is visible at all levels - from the gradual breakdown of infrastructure in wealthier suburbs to the complete destruction in working-class areas like the central, east and west.

"What the inner city, especially Hillbrow, has endured in just 10 years is unfathomable. The scale of the decline is staggering.