Greenery

In various lists and by various measures, Johannesburg appears to do very well in the rankings of green cities, with canopy cover. It’s true that it’s easy to find peaceful areas of the city with lots of greenery, although these are heavily concentrated in wealthy parts, and in dense townships and poor areas you’re likely to be hard pressed to find a blade of grass. As with every other quality of life measure, urban green indexes focus on how much of a city the residents can use as green leisure spaces. This is an irrelevant luxury for people without the means of time or money to enjoy such spaces.

This quiet street was in between downpours as I walked to do a pre-travel Covid test.