Alexandra, South Africa

Alexandra
Alexandra Show map of Gauteng Alexandra Show map of South Africa Alexandra Show map of Africa  Alexandra shown within Gauteng
Location within Greater Johannesburg  Alexandra
Coordinates: 26°6.23′S 28°5.77′E / 26.10383°S 28.09617°E / -26.10383; 28.09617Coordinates: 26°6.23′S 28°5.77′E / 26.10383°S 28.09617°E / -26.10383; 28.09617
Country	South Africa
Province	Gauteng
Municipality	City of Johannesburg
Established	1912
Area
• Total	6.91 km2 (2.67 sq mi)
Population (2011)
• Total	179,624
• Density	26,000/km2 (67,000/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)
• Black African	99.0%
• Coloured	0.4%
• Indian/Asian	0.1%
• White	0.1%
• Other	0.4%
First languages (2011)
• Zulu	26.3%
• Northern Sotho	23.1%
• Tsonga	11.3%
• Xhosa	9.8%
• Other	29.6%
Postal code (street)	2090
PO box	2014

Alexandra, informally abbreviated to Alex, is a township in the Gauteng province of South Africa. It forms part of the city of Johannesburg and is located near the upper-class suburb of Sandton. Alexandra is bounded by Wynberg on the west, Marlboro and Kelvin on the north, Kew, Lombardy West and Lombardy East on the south. It is commonly known as "Gomorrah" among local residents. Alexandra is one of the poorest urban areas in the country. Alexandra is situated on the banks of the Jukskei River. In addition to its original, reasonably well-built houses, it also has a large number (estimated at more than 20,000) of informal dwellings or "shacks".

Alexandra was established in 1912, on land originally owned by a farmer, a Mr Papenfus, who tried to establish a white residential township there, naming it after his wife, Alexandra. However, because it was (at the time) a considerable distance from the center of Johannesburg, this was not a great success. Consequently, in 1912, Alexandra was proclaimed as a so-called "native township". Because the township was proclaimed before the South African 1913 Land Act, it was one of the few urban areas in the country where black people could own land under a freehold title.

By 1916, the population of Alexandra had grown to 30,000 people. and thus the Alexandra Health Committee was established to manage the township. However, the Committee was not allowed to collect local taxes, nor was the Johannesburg City Council willing to take responsibility for an area that it claimed fell outside its jurisdiction, leading to a lack of resources and proper management. When the National Party came into power in 1948 and started to implement its policy of apartheid, Alexandra was put under the direct control of the then Department of Native Affairs.

In the early 1960s, the government decided to demolish all family accommodation in Alexandra and replace them with single-sex hostels, which led to widespread resistance and protest. However, owing to the high costs, lack of alternative housing for the persons that would have to have been removed and the escalating opposition led by the Rev Sam Buti's Save Alexandra Party, only two hostels were actually completed, and so the scheme was cancelled in 1979.