Wow. This is a rare find because normally I watch American TH-camrs talking about SA. It’s awesome having these types of vids made by a South African. You should make a vid about SunnySide and it’s history
Pretoria was a beautiful city until 1994 it then became a ANC cesspool. Sunnyside now unofficially called the Nigeria of Pretoria was a student village, people was doing window shopping till the early morning hours, you cannot do it now even during the day. My beautiful Pretoria is now a squatter camp for foreigners from all over Africa.
If you visit some of the older buildings in Sunnyside you can tell they used to be quite nice and fancy - granite furnishing, decked out rooftops, aged wooden floors. Anyway, Sunnyside-Arcadia is another area that was developed for the NPs civil servants Only. Quite a story to tell there.
My wife grew up in Sunny Side Pretoria. They moved to Centurion in 1986 when she graduated. It was a good decision, as the property values dropped and the crime increased!
I grew up in sunnyside in the 80’s and 90’s, and my parents had a business in Esselen street until 2022. I remember walking to sunny park at night! It was so safe
When people swamped these places, without paying for for anything, what do you expect was going to happen? The city center was a vibrant shopping mecca with corporate headcourters all over the place. Today it's a crime ridden slum, wreaking of human waste, where you can't walk on sidewalks, because there are informal sellers everywhere. Call this freedom if you want, but I call it an utter disgrace, and you can blame it on apartheid day in and day out, but if this is what freedom looks like, I'll take apartheid over it any day of the week.
Corruption and cruelty isn't merely a bad outcome here in South Africa, it is the true culture of this deeply scared nation. Those with power will run off to the Bryanston and Cliftons of the world, those without will wallow in their wake. Can you claim that this hasn't always been the nature of South Africa? Can you claim every brick and border wasn't layed for the express purpose of exploitation? That this nation was not conceived for the benefit of the strong and the persecution of the weak? You're not yearning for a better South Africa lost, there is never such a creature...no, what you're yearning for is power, for if oppression is anything it is a ceaseless flood and you're failing to keep above it that's why it's suddenly a 'disgrace', because you're entitled. To those like you, those that miss apartheid: You're welcome to avert your eyes from the truth tell yourself centuries of colonial cruelty can be washed away in twenty years or simply that all that cruelty was somehow justified. but you'll be forced to see the irrationality of cruelty when it falls upon your own shoulders in the end. To everyone else: We can mourn that we were born much, much too soon to see the shade of those trees planted during the end of apartheid. But even in a random comment section like this in a place only five people will see I advocate for us to become individuals, we must avoid melting into political parties like ANC, EFF or DA. Politian's see these parties the same way you see the company you work for, they just want votes and we just want results. It's a transaction, donnot fall in love with politics.
@@s.m2895 Interesting comment. Thank you. But I think the issue here is much more simpler than your eloquent comments suggest - urban decay of Tshwane. Whatever our apartheid background may be, it doesn't mean Tshwane governments and citizens should have allowed the urban decay, no matter your political persuasions. Have you walked in Tshwane recently? In many places you have the stench of urine. Also the litter! Street hawkers have made the place no longer beautiful. I agree, it's a disgrace.
@@MuzorewaRatshikuni "Ugh! These blacks! Why are they bothering me at stop signs?? Why can't they get work?!" Right?? These blacks act like 80 percent of the population was forced into taking unskilled and low-paying career tracks with utter disregard for their actual demand just so a select few can maintain a privileged advantage in all the most productive work! No, because that would be insane; no government with any sense would ever make 80 percent of the population less economically efficient for such a short-sighted, asinine reason. What are we? A feudal medieval kingdom or something? "Oh, and the litter and filth! Pretoria is ruined!" How dare they dirty the streets! They all have homes, right!? There's no particular reason they wouldn't be able to afford housing, so why are they just pissing and littering our streets?? Especially with all those public toilets we neither have nor maintain! Or all the social security we've never had! Or even the homeless shelters we don't build for them. So ungrateful! "There's no reason this should have been allowed to happen! None at all!" We can all agree, I mean, the obvious solution is too... Uh: a)Put them in their place? Yes! Push them out of Pretoria! It's not like there'll be a backlash or anything. They're just 80 percent of the population; let's treat them like second-class citizens again. That can't possibly be what led us here to begin with. b) Build shelters to keep them off the street and allow them the time to gather themselves and try to find work with a clean change of clothes? Obviously! Why are these blacks so slow? It's straightforward! I mean, everyone understands the value of egalitarianism. It's not as if others subjected them all to anything harsh enough to instill a Darwinist outlook on life. Egalitarian values are the obvious thing to follow. "If they were as good at fixing their problems as they were blaming us for their problems, they'd be rich!" We agree once again. I mean fuck the factual sequence of events. Its their fault somehow. How did they not fix centuries of exploitation and mismanagement in 24 years? What a joke.
I remember frequenting Shubert Park on weekends to visit my aunt,I remember the swimming pools and I remember witnessing it’s deterioration, sad indeed
First time visiting South Africa, I was impressed by these tall buildings, it was only when I took a closer look that I saw laundry where I thought was office buildings, many buildings were like that with torn curtains/sheets, I knew something was wriong.
Downtown Johannesburg is a no go zone now. The cities gilded palaces of commerce and finance are nothing more than shells filled with slums. It's like a real-life dystopian nightmare, only this is not Hollywood, it's real and is happening to a former western city.
South Africa was always broken, where everything worked where YOU lived it there was nothing for the vast majority. The only thing that has changed in South Africa is the people it 'works' for. Today...it just isn't you.
@@s.m2895 Strange. The older 'disenfranchised' generation all admit life was better back then.....less crime, more jobs, economy was way better, goods were cheaper, borders were better protected, each tribe had it's own respective homeland etc...now, with the current regime, 'equality' just means all races are poor LoL
Black South African the country is better off in the hands of white peoples you and i know that South Africa is no longer the country we used to know and lived in ever since black took over the country is sinking gradually
@@MainManGood Your comment doesn't really help. And while governing parties, both ANC and DA, running Tshwane municipality over the last 30 years can be blamed, you have failed to pinpoint the exact cause of the problem. And that is the Tshwane resident, in particular, Tshwane's black residents and traders in the city. These have to adopt habits of not littering, running a small business with compliance to by-laws, putting up well constructed and architecturally and aesthetically pleasing hawker stands etc.
Thanks to the ANC and EFF who collect fat checks and drive fancy cars yet try to call out the DA Western Cape compared to other provinces is like chalk and cheese because the DA does the walk not the talk
New here just earned a subscriber. Great vid, continue sharing knowledge. Infrastructure funds are being looted there's no way this buildings couldn't have been rescued to serve South Africans after so many years
Urban decay, especially in the South African context is such an interesting topic, I find myself walking around JHB and thinking, "Who made this building, and what happened to it, why is it defunct/abandoned/destroyed/still working"? Too bad many of the records (and pictures of what it was), don't exist or are not available to the general public. With respect to the Schubart Park, I wonder if the model was based on the subsidised housing project of the US from the 60's. It is quite upsetting though that we've got some buildings readily available for those that don't have a place to live but can't because the government has locked it up.
Yea, inspiration was taken from the subsidized housing projects in the U.S and the U.K - I imagine other regions too given it was an in-thing. JHB is just wild. I really hope to do a proper deep dive someday and track down the owners/former owners of such buildings e.g. Ponte City Tower
As a professional landlord in Jo'burg, it always breaks my heart to see such a good building going to waste because of bad management. And that's really what it boils down to because with proper management that building could have been a money-printing gem. The problem now is that the building has been stripped down to its concrete shell. It will cost so much money to make it habitable again that it's simply not economically viable to a private investor. This means that the only way to get it going again is to use taxpayers money to do it.
Great show bro. I have always asked myself what’s stopping companies from reviving those places. On the other note,there are block of buildings recently built that have been cut of electricity as they residents are not paying.
I was working at the primary school right at Scubart Park early 2000's when it started falling apart like that. I was working for a Non-profit organization helping the young kids cope. It was a tough life for them. Just after I got married (and moving on with having my own kids) things really fell apart with the fires and deaths. Also lived through the times when Sunnyside and Arcadia became run down. My dad bought us a flat right at the bottom of the Union Buildings when we were students in 1996 until around 2001
The same way downtown Johannesburg was abandoned. It's called white flight. But they will return eventually and then it will be called regentrification. This happened in the USA during integration in the 60's and early 70's. And it's still going on today with regentrification.
Excellent video. I've lived in PTA for 10 years and didn't even realise the history of these buildings and the neighbourhoods surroundings CBD(PTA East & PTA West)
Extemely well explained video, amazing. Keep it coming please. Im from the Netherlands and studied for abt 6 months at the univeristy of Pretoria as an exchange student last year. I have been fascinated by the structure of the city from the moment i arrived. I try to educate myself as good as i can on south african history and politics etc. Anyhow: you got yourself a new sub!
@@TheEntries True! I stayed in Hatfield myself, one of the safer areas of the city i was told. The longer i stayed, the safer and more comfortable i felt. Especially the differences between areas like Lynnwood and mamelodi are insane.
My little bro's school participated in a choir competition in Pretoria last year . We stayed in Arcadia, and didn't roam around much . The vibe over there, I've never experienced before . In our cbd there aren't tuck shops but there were quite a few over there . I'm from CPT btw
You know, I love how in a certain part of this piece the word "WHITE" gets over expressed with all the context in the world but when the context shifts the word "white" gets replaced with "people". Then of course Apartheid this and Apartheid that and when the context shifts, nothing? LOL now what does that say about this piece and the creator? The agenda is pretty clear and I predict that Africans will love this channel. Anyway probably no point in pointing out anything else and besides, I dabble in reality and reality dictates that when Africans move in everything else moves out. The results are there for everyone to see. This is not a South African story, this is a African story. You will also find the same story across the world. It is what it.
This was so cool. I am really curious about South Africa's old infrastructure, its neglect, and gentrification. There are better ways to improve living standards. Why aren't we doing it? There is so much undigested history as well. What is that old derelict building about? What stories does it have to tell, and in what ways can these stories inform us about ourself as a nation? I wish I could help you with a drone. I know you will find someone. I can hardly wait.
Speaking as an Architecture student (Master's level) I've always wanted to have the discussion on Pretoria (Tshwane Metro) and how it's actually very typical for a city to go through what it's going through and what's actively not helping in rehabilitating the city.
Thanks. I really want to do a series on them but need a drone to make it work. Once I get one, or someone to collab with one, I'll do a deep dive. Also, I been watching your car reviews. Nice stuff 👌🏾
So What you’re saying is that when Africa was given its independence in countries South Africa having been ruled now by the Indigenous people they have completely ruined, their country, it a correct supposition. Is there any country in Africa country that is doing well economically since the end of colonisation. Thank you for your understanding.
Schubert Park, like a number of other similar developmemts, was built to house, as you say, mainly civil servants. (There were a lot of state departments in central Pretoria). The location made it easy for civil servants to walk to work but also to house one parent families where the mother could not afford the rent in the other established area and also drop on the kiddies at the creche. The idea was also to uplift the area and there were no place left on the "old side" to built housing. It also relieved the pressure on traffic, etc. The municipal bus service was struggling to cope. There are no politics in this. Same reason there are so many high rise housing "flats" in Hillbrow. There was a big problem of "grabbing" and the damage that comes with it and non payment of rent. The whole of Pretoria centre, Sunnyside, Burgerspark, Arcadia and the areas up to the Univ of Pretoria - same thing. The owners of the buildings, as in Hillbrow and Jhb central basically gave up on the buildings - to close them of was cutting losses. Interesting to note that there were no high rise development in the townships. Proper houses were built by municipalities. The mass of shacks came about after the regime change and houses promises were not built. I worked for the civil service in the 70's and the particular section's main task was to secure land identified by Public Works for building schools - that is schools for non-whites.
Indeed, many similar developments around as well as on-going "grabbing" as you say. I disagree about there being "no politics" in urban development programs. Glad to hear from someone that worked for the civil service at that time. Out of curiosity, when and why did you leave civil service? I don't get to hear/read much about those experiences.
The reason why so many Afrikaans speaking people ended up in the civil service (including police, army and prison services) in essence, it was the only place we could get work. English owned companies did not appoint us because of politics. The mines, and industries were mainly owned and run by the English. However if one had a proffesional qualification - engineers, CA's chanches were better. Bear in mind there was still conscription with 2 intakes per year - January and July. If one had not done the initial service companies were not interested i.e appointed, army for two years, they had to hold your job, etc. I left because of salary - the civil service paid low salaries compared to the private sector. Spend some time at an English insurance company, treated like shit and then joined the MVA fund (now RAF) - incorporated as an insurance company but sorted with the Dept of Transport. Studied night classes paid by me (5 years) and when I completed my degree was not promoted to the next level - internal politics which originated from the national politics - National Party and The Conservative party. It was a career statement to walk into the office with an English newspaper. They did my farther in as well - he was due for retirement but also promotion. Their excuse was beacause he is in his final year.....and it impacted his pension a lot. I had to train 2x ladies who used to work at the NP offices and after a year both were promoted. Eventually got a job in insurance - a South African company +- 1991. All ethnicities worked there. (The attorneys/advocates I dealt with at the MVA were mostly blacks. Worked for the company 18 years and got retrenched. Unemployed for 2 years, got a mickey mouse job at an insurer owned by a Jewish guy and his business MO was to appoint the older people because they had solid experience at feeble salaries...because he knew the people needed income as most had a pension problem. Got retrenched in 2023 because he sold the company. I understamd there were politics involved in housing schemes. What I tried to say is that the Schubart Park development, at the time of building it and where the development was done was not driven by additional politics - the location was the only place where stands were available. In fact there was another similar development not far from Schubart park and it was closer to an Indian business area / centre development where I did meet with Indian brokers. During the day I could go to Laudium to meet brokers but not at night - we wanted to train with a karate instrutor there hence had to slip in and out....always on the lookout for cops. Schubart park and the other development "suffered" the same fate as did Sunnyside and the other areas I mentioned previously. During reserve duty the commando groups (not as in special forces but volunteer, older guys) had to drive patrols at night between Laudium and Attridgeville....the latter gave the first mentioned some crime headaches. I would suggest you look into the giving land back to tribes - Boputhatswana, Venda, further down the south coast road where Gen Holomisa came from. They all had their own parlaments, hospitals, police force, army, universities. Then asked why the new regime undid all of it and now they agitate for land.
This is incredibly informative. Thanks for sharing. yes, I have been reading up on the Bantustans and apartheid nostalgia. Jacob Dlamini has a good book on that actually. Your work history and breakdown of the British factor is so intriguing. Sounds like a good chat over coffee. I'm actually working on a video about why S.A rugby performs so much better than football (in societal value, not necessarily entertainment), really can't get away from the British factor there either.
Our country doesn’t know how to maintain itself. We built and let it rot and try to take as much profit instead of reinvesting. Expensive cars and luxury items seem to have priority these days ❤
If the people who lived there after 1994 paid their services accounts, the municipality would not have needed to disconnect them; there would have been no need for protests, and the place would not have become the uninhabitable, decayed, valueless waste that it now is, that they made of it. What a shame! I would hang down my head in shame, not start a protest.
I'm glad you picked that up :) Dropping a few other videos first so It's gonna be a while as I'm working on a "S.A pseudo-middle class" piece and it falls somewhere around that theme. But it is coming by year end, it's something I am really interested in.
Well, there are parts of PTA that look amazing (like the East, that I'll be doing a vid on), but the decay is there and quite ignored. Thanks for the sub.
Thanks and yea, That's the plan, to do a deep-dive, as I mention at the end of the video. Just need a drone to deliver what the subject matter deserves. Stay tuned.
Thank you for this well presented video. Did not even know this was going on. Yes, the NP did ensure that its voters were looked after so I am not surprised that places like this existed, any more than I am surprised now by the white squatter camps since their benefactors are no longer in power.
As per the words of Jesse Jackson “There is nothing more painful to me at this stage in my life than to walk down the street and hear footsteps … then turn around and see somebody white and feel relieved.” Search - grand hotel Beira before after photos
True record keeing was bad during apartheid my grandma claims to have been born in Dec but her ID says October she says they messed it up so now we don't know😆
My dad stayed in schubart park when I was in college, that's 19 99 swimming pool excellent city within a city,, a butcher a spar and a wishy washy, don't know what the hell these guys dis, in just glad my dad passed away 3 years before all the shit. He was pensioner living on a little money, wish we had places like that once again, especially with south Africa that only the rich can afford a proper roof over their head
Hey bro, I have a drone, bought it from a relative moving abroad... But its not a fancy one, think its shox. Let me know if you want it, im in Brooklyn right there by the Brooklyn mall
Bro, there are only 3 skeleton buildings in Pretoria. They are skeletons to prevent squatters. The PTA CBD got a lot of investment in recent years. It actually is in its prime. Not sure what your beef with PTA is.
Wow. This is a rare find because normally I watch American TH-camrs talking about SA. It’s awesome having these types of vids made by a South African.
You should make a vid about SunnySide and it’s history
Thank you. Yea, Sunnyside is an interesting and dodgy place :) I'll think about it. Thanks for the suggestion.
Pretoria was a beautiful city until 1994 it then became a ANC cesspool. Sunnyside now unofficially called the Nigeria of Pretoria was a student village, people was doing window shopping till the early morning hours, you cannot do it now even during the day. My beautiful Pretoria is now a squatter camp for foreigners from all over Africa.
If you visit some of the older buildings in Sunnyside you can tell they used to be quite nice and fancy - granite furnishing, decked out rooftops, aged wooden floors. Anyway, Sunnyside-Arcadia is another area that was developed for the NPs civil servants Only. Quite a story to tell there.
It’s under DA for almost 10 yrs now
If thats the way to start building ONE AFRICA, then i am afraid thats the DANGEROUS START
@@reportthehypeYou cannot fix ANC fuckups in a day.
Since 2016 it is under DA. DA is not different from ANC
We need more youtubers like these in SA.
As someone who grew up in Pretoria, it's sad to see the state in which the city has become now.
Very sad, I agree.
So, what are you personally going to do about it?
My wife grew up in Sunny Side Pretoria. They moved to Centurion in 1986 when she graduated. It was a good decision, as the property values dropped and the crime increased!
The ANC destroyed everything 😮
DIE MENSE het GEEN benul WAARVAN HULLE PRAAT NIE .
I grew up in sunnyside in the 80’s and 90’s, and my parents had a business in Esselen street until 2022. I remember walking to sunny park at night! It was so safe
Gone are the days.
My aunt lived there and left around the early 2000s and you could see the decay that was happening
When people swamped these places, without paying for for anything, what do you expect was going to happen? The city center was a vibrant shopping mecca with corporate headcourters all over the place. Today it's a crime ridden slum, wreaking of human waste, where you can't walk on sidewalks, because there are informal sellers everywhere. Call this freedom if you want, but I call it an utter disgrace, and you can blame it on apartheid day in and day out, but if this is what freedom looks like, I'll take apartheid over it any day of the week.
Corruption and cruelty isn't merely a bad outcome here in South Africa, it is the true culture of this deeply scared nation.
Those with power will run off to the Bryanston and Cliftons of the world, those without will wallow in their wake. Can you claim that this hasn't always been the nature of South Africa? Can you claim every brick and border wasn't layed for the express purpose of exploitation? That this nation was not conceived for the benefit of the strong and the persecution of the weak? You're not yearning for a better South Africa lost, there is never such a creature...no, what you're yearning for is power, for if oppression is anything it is a ceaseless flood and you're failing to keep above it that's why it's suddenly a 'disgrace', because you're entitled.
To those like you, those that miss apartheid: You're welcome to avert your eyes from the truth tell yourself centuries of colonial cruelty can be washed away in twenty years or simply that all that cruelty was somehow justified. but you'll be forced to see the irrationality of cruelty when it falls upon your own shoulders in the end.
To everyone else: We can mourn that we were born much, much too soon to see the shade of those trees planted during the end of apartheid. But even in a random comment section like this in a place only five people will see I advocate for us to become individuals, we must avoid melting into political parties like ANC, EFF or DA. Politian's see these parties the same way you see the company you work for, they just want votes and we just want results. It's a transaction, donnot fall in love with politics.
@@s.m2895
Interesting comment. Thank you.
But I think the issue here is much more simpler than your eloquent comments suggest - urban decay of Tshwane.
Whatever our apartheid background may be, it doesn't mean Tshwane governments and citizens should have allowed the urban decay, no matter your political persuasions.
Have you walked in Tshwane recently? In many places you have the stench of urine. Also the litter! Street hawkers have made the place no longer beautiful. I agree, it's a disgrace.
@@MuzorewaRatshikuni
"Ugh! These blacks! Why are they bothering me at stop signs?? Why can't they get work?!"
Right?? These blacks act like 80 percent of the population was forced into taking unskilled and low-paying career tracks with utter disregard for their actual demand just so a select few can maintain a privileged advantage in all the most productive work! No, because that would be insane; no government with any sense would ever make 80 percent of the population less economically efficient for such a short-sighted, asinine reason. What are we? A feudal medieval kingdom or something?
"Oh, and the litter and filth! Pretoria is ruined!"
How dare they dirty the streets! They all have homes, right!? There's no particular reason they wouldn't be able to afford housing, so why are they just pissing and littering our streets?? Especially with all those public toilets we neither have nor maintain! Or all the social security we've never had! Or even the homeless shelters we don't build for them. So ungrateful!
"There's no reason this should have been allowed to happen! None at all!"
We can all agree, I mean, the obvious solution is too... Uh:
a)Put them in their place?
Yes! Push them out of Pretoria! It's not like there'll be a backlash or anything. They're just 80 percent of the population; let's treat them like second-class citizens again. That can't possibly be what led us here to begin with.
b) Build shelters to keep them off the street and allow them the time to gather themselves and try to find work with a clean change of clothes?
Obviously! Why are these blacks so slow? It's straightforward! I mean, everyone understands the value of egalitarianism. It's not as if others subjected them all to anything harsh enough to instill a Darwinist outlook on life. Egalitarian values are the obvious thing to follow.
"If they were as good at fixing their problems as they were blaming us for their problems, they'd be rich!"
We agree once again. I mean fuck the factual sequence of events. Its their fault somehow. How did they not fix centuries of exploitation and mismanagement in 24 years? What a joke.
I remember frequenting Shubert Park on weekends to visit my aunt,I remember the swimming pools and I remember witnessing it’s deterioration, sad indeed
The black man is not fit to manage the continent
First time visiting South Africa, I was impressed by these tall buildings, it was only when I took a closer look that I saw laundry where I thought was office buildings, many buildings were like that with torn curtains/sheets, I knew something was wriong.
Downtown Johannesburg is a no go zone now. The cities gilded palaces of commerce and finance are nothing more than shells filled with slums. It's like a real-life dystopian nightmare, only this is not Hollywood, it's real and is happening to a former western city.
I lived in Sunnyside in 1982 it was beautiful them.
Seems like pre-1994 everything just WORKED..........what tf happened ????
Schubart Park was already screwed before '94 though. After '94 it declined even further and was in ruins by the 2000s.
@@TheEntries 'Screwed'.....LoL....the reality is anything pre-1994 was paradise compared to after.
@@TheEntries LoL.....anything pre '94 was paradise compared to after.
South Africa was always broken, where everything worked where YOU lived it there was nothing for the vast majority. The only thing that has changed in South Africa is the people it 'works' for. Today...it just isn't you.
@@s.m2895 Strange. The older 'disenfranchised' generation all admit life was better back then.....less crime, more jobs, economy was way better, goods were cheaper, borders were better protected, each tribe had it's own respective homeland etc...now, with the current regime, 'equality' just means all races are poor LoL
Who is to blame? Speak the truth please.
The ANC
A white man will never lift a finger against the Apartheid government
Black South African the country is better off in the hands of white peoples you and i know that South Africa is no longer the country we used to know and lived in ever since black took over the country is sinking gradually
You're exhausting I can just tell 🥱🥱 and probably racist
Beeeeeeeeeeen waiting for a channel like this! had to subscribe! Top tier content man and I love your delivery / presentation style
Thank you. I'll keep at it. Also, I'm open to feedback anytime.
Because of the ANC
DA has been in control of Pretoria for almost a decade now
@@bri1085 ANC have been in control of Gautang for 30 years.
@@MainManGood
Your comment doesn't really help. And while governing parties, both ANC and DA, running Tshwane municipality over the last 30 years can be blamed, you have failed to pinpoint the exact cause of the problem. And that is the Tshwane resident, in particular, Tshwane's black residents and traders in the city. These have to adopt habits of not littering, running a small business with compliance to by-laws, putting up well constructed and architecturally and aesthetically pleasing hawker stands etc.
Thanks to the ANC and EFF who collect fat checks and drive fancy cars yet try to call out the DA Western Cape compared to other provinces is like chalk and cheese because the DA does the walk not the talk
New here just earned a subscriber. Great vid, continue sharing knowledge. Infrastructure funds are being looted there's no way this buildings couldn't have been rescued to serve South Africans after so many years
Thanks for sub. Yea, it's real sad, and there are many other buildings with similar stories.
Talking rubbish. You know that in the homelands black people ruled and their record keeping was up to ... . You are trying to make this a race thing.
Urban decay, especially in the South African context is such an interesting topic, I find myself walking around JHB and thinking, "Who made this building, and what happened to it, why is it defunct/abandoned/destroyed/still working"? Too bad many of the records (and pictures of what it was), don't exist or are not available to the general public.
With respect to the Schubart Park, I wonder if the model was based on the subsidised housing project of the US from the 60's. It is quite upsetting though that we've got some buildings readily available for those that don't have a place to live but can't because the government has locked it up.
Yea, inspiration was taken from the subsidized housing projects in the U.S and the U.K - I imagine other regions too given it was an in-thing.
JHB is just wild. I really hope to do a proper deep dive someday and track down the owners/former owners of such buildings e.g. Ponte City Tower
@@TheEntries That'd be great and honestly interesting, would love to be a part of it!
I agree with what you said about Jozi. Especially downtown around the Carlton Centre area.
Great to see a new south African video essay channel doing well looking forward to watching you grow
Thank you. Learning as I go, but yes, growth is the goal.
As a professional landlord in Jo'burg, it always breaks my heart to see such a good building going to waste because of bad management. And that's really what it boils down to because with proper management that building could have been a money-printing gem.
The problem now is that the building has been stripped down to its concrete shell. It will cost so much money to make it habitable again that it's simply not economically viable to a private investor. This means that the only way to get it going again is to use taxpayers money to do it.
Great show bro.
I have always asked myself what’s stopping companies from reviving those places.
On the other note,there are block of buildings recently built that have been cut of electricity as they residents are not paying.
My family and I was the first black family to move into Shoubart park.. Very impressed with this documentary.
Oh wow. Which year was that?
1994
I was working at the primary school right at Scubart Park early 2000's when it started falling apart like that. I was working for a Non-profit organization helping the young kids cope. It was a tough life for them. Just after I got married (and moving on with having my own kids) things really fell apart with the fires and deaths. Also lived through the times when Sunnyside and Arcadia became run down. My dad bought us a flat right at the bottom of the Union Buildings when we were students in 1996 until around 2001
This was amazing to watch
Patiently waiting to the Pretoria East Documentary
Thanks. It will be a couple of months. But I'm dropping 2 more videos before I deliver the PTA East vid. Hope you stick around.
The same way downtown Johannesburg was abandoned. It's called white flight. But they will return eventually and then it will be called regentrification. This happened in the USA during integration in the 60's and early 70's. And it's still going on today with regentrification.
Rubbish. The whites will NEVER return.
Excellent video. I've lived in PTA for 10 years and didn't even realise the history of these buildings and the neighbourhoods surroundings CBD(PTA East & PTA West)
Great video , well done. Looking forward to the PTA west video.
Extemely well explained video, amazing. Keep it coming please. Im from the Netherlands and studied for abt 6 months at the univeristy of Pretoria as an exchange student last year. I have been fascinated by the structure of the city from the moment i arrived. I try to educate myself as good as i can on south african history and politics etc. Anyhow: you got yourself a new sub!
Hartelijk dank. Yea, got some more coming. Definitely an interesting and multi-faceted city with awesome and sad sides to it.
@@TheEntries True! I stayed in Hatfield myself, one of the safer areas of the city i was told. The longer i stayed, the safer and more comfortable i felt. Especially the differences between areas like Lynnwood and mamelodi are insane.
Very interesting and well presented. SA needs lots of austerity to make it a better place but I doubt the rich folks would tolerate that.
I remember friends of mine staying in Schubart park in 2005 and it was still a little decent.
My little bro's school participated in a choir competition in Pretoria last year . We stayed in Arcadia, and didn't roam around much . The vibe over there, I've never experienced before . In our cbd there aren't tuck shops but there were quite a few over there .
I'm from CPT btw
This is the problem of Johannesburg cbd too 😢
Sounds like Zimbabwe. Blacks self govern
in the documentary, please include what's being done to correct the situation for the better.
You know, I love how in a certain part of this piece the word "WHITE" gets over expressed with all the context in the world but when the context shifts the word "white" gets replaced with "people". Then of course Apartheid this and Apartheid that and when the context shifts, nothing? LOL now what does that say about this piece and the creator? The agenda is pretty clear and I predict that Africans will love this channel. Anyway probably no point in pointing out anything else and besides, I dabble in reality and reality dictates that when Africans move in everything else moves out. The results are there for everyone to see. This is not a South African story, this is a African story. You will also find the same story across the world. It is what it.
I agree. In denial and misses the plot.
This was so cool. I am really curious about South Africa's old infrastructure, its neglect, and gentrification. There are better ways to improve living standards. Why aren't we doing it? There is so much undigested history as well. What is that old derelict building about? What stories does it have to tell, and in what ways can these stories inform us about ourself as a nation? I wish I could help you with a drone. I know you will find someone. I can hardly wait.
Thank you. I am as curious as you are. It's a really interesting and informative history.
The poor planning of apartheid at least created an infrastructure equal to Australia at that time. The most advanced in Africa even this day.
I remember these buildings they were clean and well maintained untill when yes 1994 then the big DECAY started !!!!!!!!!
I enjoyed living in pretoria . 2015 to 2021 .... even exploring the city was fun . used to work up on church street.
Speaking as an Architecture student (Master's level) I've always wanted to have the discussion on Pretoria (Tshwane Metro) and how it's actually very typical for a city to go through what it's going through and what's actively not helping in rehabilitating the city.
SOUTH AFRUCA WAS A BEAUTUFUL COUNTRY UNTIL 1995.......ask the ANC what happened.
Thanks for a great video. Well researched and put together
Nice informative video, keep em coming, especially Pretoria buildings 😅🤝🏾
Thanks. I really want to do a series on them but need a drone to make it work. Once I get one, or someone to collab with one, I'll do a deep dive.
Also, I been watching your car reviews. Nice stuff 👌🏾
@@TheEntries you can try renting one at Outdoorphoto or any other camera stores,
Thank you 🙏🏾😊
YES, do an informative video on south African Railway Stations &Buildings as well please !
So What you’re saying is that when Africa was given its independence in countries South Africa having been ruled now by the Indigenous people they have completely ruined, their country, it a correct supposition. Is there any country in Africa country that is doing well economically since the end of colonisation. Thank you for your understanding.
What do they expect. You should see what Oxford Street in East London in the Eastern Cape looks like. A descent into darkness
This channel. Beautiful work😊
Thanks. That's encouraging.
very interesting bro, as someone who studied urban geography in undergrad in sa. Thanks so much!
Finally
My favourite type of content but this time it’s from a South African
Subscribed !
Thanks for the support.
Please make a video of how the East started and Centurion
Schubert Park, like a number of other similar developmemts, was built to house, as you say, mainly civil servants. (There were a lot of state departments in central Pretoria). The location made it easy for civil servants to walk to work but also to house one parent families where the mother could not afford the rent in the other established area and also drop on the kiddies at the creche. The idea was also to uplift the area and there were no place left on the "old side" to built housing. It also relieved the pressure on traffic, etc. The municipal bus service was struggling to cope. There are no politics in this. Same reason there are so many high rise housing "flats" in Hillbrow. There was a big problem of "grabbing" and the damage that comes with it and non payment of rent. The whole of Pretoria centre, Sunnyside, Burgerspark, Arcadia and the areas up to the Univ of Pretoria - same thing. The owners of the buildings, as in Hillbrow and Jhb central basically gave up on the buildings - to close them of was cutting losses. Interesting to note that there were no high rise development in the townships. Proper houses were built by municipalities. The mass of shacks came about after the regime change and houses promises were not built. I worked for the civil service in the 70's and the particular section's main task was to secure land identified by Public Works for building schools - that is schools for non-whites.
Indeed, many similar developments around as well as on-going "grabbing" as you say. I disagree about there being "no politics" in urban development programs.
Glad to hear from someone that worked for the civil service at that time. Out of curiosity, when and why did you leave civil service? I don't get to hear/read much about those experiences.
The reason why so many Afrikaans speaking people ended up in the civil service (including police, army and prison services) in essence, it was the only place we could get work. English owned companies did not appoint us because of politics. The mines, and industries were mainly owned and run by the English. However if one had a proffesional qualification - engineers, CA's chanches were better. Bear in mind there was still conscription with 2 intakes per year - January and July. If one had not done the initial service companies were not interested i.e appointed, army for two years, they had to hold your job, etc. I left because of salary - the civil service paid low salaries compared to the private sector. Spend some time at an English insurance company, treated like shit and then joined the MVA fund (now RAF) - incorporated as an insurance company but sorted with the Dept of Transport. Studied night classes paid by me (5 years) and when I completed my degree was not promoted to the next level - internal politics which originated from the national politics - National Party and The Conservative party. It was a career statement to walk into the office with an English newspaper. They did my farther in as well - he was due for retirement but also promotion. Their excuse was beacause he is in his final year.....and it impacted his pension a lot. I had to train 2x ladies who used to work at the NP offices and after a year both were promoted. Eventually got a job in insurance - a South African company +- 1991. All ethnicities worked there. (The attorneys/advocates I dealt with at the MVA were mostly blacks. Worked for the company 18 years and got retrenched. Unemployed for 2 years, got a mickey mouse job at an insurer owned by a Jewish guy and his business MO was to appoint the older people because they had solid experience at feeble salaries...because he knew the people needed income as most had a pension problem. Got retrenched in 2023 because he sold the company.
I understamd there were politics involved in housing schemes. What I tried to say is that the Schubart Park development, at the time of building it and where the development was done was not driven by additional politics - the location was the only place where stands were available. In fact there was another similar development not far from Schubart park and it was closer to an Indian business area / centre development where I did meet with Indian brokers. During the day I could go to Laudium to meet brokers but not at night - we wanted to train with a karate instrutor there hence had to slip in and out....always on the lookout for cops. Schubart park and the other development "suffered" the same fate as did Sunnyside and the other areas I mentioned previously. During reserve duty the commando groups (not as in special forces but volunteer, older guys) had to drive patrols at night between Laudium and Attridgeville....the latter gave the first mentioned some crime headaches. I would suggest you look into the giving land back to tribes - Boputhatswana, Venda, further down the south coast road where Gen Holomisa came from. They all had their own parlaments, hospitals, police force, army, universities. Then asked why the new regime undid all of it and now they agitate for land.
This is incredibly informative. Thanks for sharing. yes, I have been reading up on the Bantustans and apartheid nostalgia. Jacob Dlamini has a good book on that actually. Your work history and breakdown of the British factor is so intriguing. Sounds like a good chat over coffee.
I'm actually working on a video about why S.A rugby performs so much better than football (in societal value, not necessarily entertainment), really can't get away from the British factor there either.
Well put together bro!
Totally worth a like and follow 👍🏽
Thank you. More on the way :)
Pretoria and Johannesburg were beautiful cities. Then 94 happened.
Totally correct 100%
Our country doesn’t know how to maintain itself. We built and let it rot and try to take as much profit instead of reinvesting. Expensive cars and luxury items seem to have priority these days ❤
From a Pretorian....Dope video bro
Bite size videos like this are good though, loved it.
Thank you. I've been wondering if I should keep them short or make them longer. This feedback is helpful.
Johannesburg also is a squarter camp
If the people who lived there after 1994 paid their services accounts, the municipality would not have needed to disconnect them; there would have been no need for protests, and the place would not have become the uninhabitable, decayed, valueless waste that it now is, that they made of it. What a shame! I would hang down my head in shame, not start a protest.
Informative video, when are you dropping the video on the rich Pretoria East?
I'm glad you picked that up :)
Dropping a few other videos first so It's gonna be a while as I'm working on a "S.A pseudo-middle class" piece and it falls somewhere around that theme. But it is coming by year end, it's something I am really interested in.
Some people build and others break down.
Hells bells. I thought Cape Town was a kak place for urban decay. What's going on PTA????
Very informative boet. Thanks for this. New sub here 👋
Well, there are parts of PTA that look amazing (like the East, that I'll be doing a vid on), but the decay is there and quite ignored.
Thanks for the sub.
Cool video dude. Well done!
Man I would love to know what you read this is some good content!
Whatever comes my way, I read or listen 😄
A visit to the JStor site never hurts.
and we still have people believing in anc that has never did anything for SAns
Haha
Very informative video , I was in Pretoria in early 2000 it was not a too bad city to live in at that time , it seems things got worse.
I wouldn't say worse for all of PTA. You'll see the next video I do on the subject, PTA East. It's a complex issue.
New sub...
Wonderful content, congrats bro
Thanks. More coming :)
This is good bro 👏 keep it up.
Tiktok led me here.
I thought it was a long documentary bit it's still nice just need more of it
Thanks and yea, That's the plan, to do a deep-dive, as I mention at the end of the video. Just need a drone to deliver what the subject matter deserves. Stay tuned.
Gay
@@TheEntriesI got access to a drone what I would not to mind to help with footage. Maveric mini 2.
...show what they've maintained because we all know they haven't built a thing
I’m here from TikTok 🔥 great content bro.
Thank you. More to come.
dope video man, subbed.
Thanks. More on the way.
Thank you for this well presented video. Did not even know this was going on. Yes, the NP did ensure that its voters were looked after so I am not surprised that places like this existed, any more than I am surprised now by the white squatter camps since their benefactors are no longer in power.
There's an interesting documentary by the 'Best Documentary' channel that touches on that: th-cam.com/video/JrnjlvbA4FY/w-d-xo.htmlsi=Ec5MEecUEA6eAlao
This was a dope video, thanks 👍
Please remember to do a video on Pretoria East
I'm glad to see some interest in that subject. It will take some time, but I definitely will cover it.
Nice journalism 👍🏼
As per the words of Jesse Jackson “There is nothing more painful to me at this stage in my life than to walk down the street and hear footsteps … then turn around and see somebody white and feel relieved.”
Search - grand hotel Beira before after photos
Nou I need to learn about Pretoria west and East
Let’s collaborate! Lived there in 1995. So many stories to share.
Hi. '95 until when?
Great video, subscribed
Why don´t you try to link up with living in SAtv
Will check 'em out 👌🏾
Blacks do know how to lead a country. The black leaders even care for their own black people.
Awesome video, thank you
You should make more vids of these 👌
Thanks. I intend to
True record keeing was bad during apartheid my grandma claims to have been born in Dec but her ID says October she says they messed it up so now we don't know😆
You have a new subscriber…
Thanks. More videos coming 💯
My dad stayed in schubart park when I was in college, that's 19 99 swimming pool excellent city within a city,, a butcher a spar and a wishy washy, don't know what the hell these guys dis, in just glad my dad passed away 3 years before all the shit. He was pensioner living on a little money, wish we had places like that once again, especially with south Africa that only the rich can afford a proper roof over their head
Thanks for sharing this. Balwin is building a "city within a city" in PTA East. I was there yesterday. Got a video coming up that speaks of that.
Hey bro, I have a drone, bought it from a relative moving abroad... But its not a fancy one, think its shox. Let me know if you want it, im in Brooklyn right there by the Brooklyn mall
Oh nice.
Please hit me up on thabsbook@gmail.com or insta DM
That's freedom
Its honestly sad how the government have neglected the cities and the whites now build outside the city and u ant blame them
Yea, the city centre did experience an exodus
And who distoyed it ? An example of the NSA, destoyed to the ground.
I blame car dependent infrastructure.
Just checked your channel my guy and all I can say is maPitori re ready to support Mara consistency my guy...
Thanks. Yea, learning as I go.
What is going on in the most beautiful country in the world?????
It's called "Semi-gration"
Mind you PTA has been under DA for 10 years now
But for the longest time I was under anc since 94...what did they do to improve in that time period..?
Decay is happening because of DA not ANC, since 2014 PTA started being trash.
You mad to think its 10 years
@@tshiamoart The DA came back to manage Tswane 16 months ago. The ANC looted the municipality and since DA took over again they get sabotaged by ANC.
Lol, Pitori is a kountry not a city...Nice video, i love PTA to bits...
Good content. I also subbed.
Bro, there are only 3 skeleton buildings in Pretoria. They are skeletons to prevent squatters. The PTA CBD got a lot of investment in recent years. It actually is in its prime. Not sure what your beef with PTA is.
I remember it having a lot of businesses. Nandos. Etc. Last I was around there.
You are delusional
More videos chief 😁
on the way :)
Welcome to the anc.