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- Hillbrow
How walkable is Hillbrow?
By Oscar Higson-SpenceUpdated
Hillbrow has a walkability score of 94 out of 100 across the 600 m around its centre, which makes it a Walker's Paradise, where daily errands do not require a car. It is the most walkable of 5 neighbourhoods ranked in Johannesburg, which scores 61 as a whole.
What's within walking distance
859 shops, restaurants, parks and other everyday places are mapped within a 30 minute walk of the centre of Hillbrow. The nearest grocery is Shoprite Hillbrow, about 3 minutes away on foot. It earns full or nearly full points for groceries, restaurants & bars, shopping, banks, parks, schools and books & libraries.
- Hillbrow Highpoint Centre3 min
- Spar Hillbrow, Caroline & Claim streets, Hillbrow Spar MySpar3 min
- KFC2 min
- KFC Hillbrow Highpoint2 min
- Cape Town Water Front2 min
- Ackermans Jhb Hillbrow2 min
- Laugh Therapy12 min
- Hill on Empire15 min
- African Bank JHB Hillbrow1 min
- Standard Bank2 min
- Jager Park7 min
- Pullinger Kop Park8 min
- Thebelihle Pre School And Creche2 min
- Pheladi Pre School3 min
- De Leuw Cather Incorporated7 min
- Transnet Freight Rail7 min
- Freemasons Hall (Park Lane)7 min
- Constitution Hill Human Rights Precinct9 min
Measured from the mapped centre of Hillbrow at -26.1881, 28.0483. Walking times assume 80 m per minute along an estimated street route.
Street layout
Within 800 m of the centre there are about 103 street intersections per km², and blocks average 95 m long. That is a well-connected street grid, so the score is not reduced.
Walkability across Hillbrow
- 90+
- 70–89
- 50–69
- 25–49
- 0–24
Each hexagon is the score at a point across the 600 m around the centre of Hillbrow. Rings mark 300 m and 600 m from the centre. Gaps are water or land without streets.
Nearby neighbourhoods in Johannesburg
| Neighbourhood | Distance | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Braamfontein | 1.3 km | 92 |
| Parktown | 2.2 km | 68 |
| Jeppestown | 2.7 km | 77 |
| Sophiatown | 7.3 km | 54 |
See every neighbourhood ranked on the Johannesburg page.
Questions about walking in Hillbrow
Is Hillbrow walkable?
Yes. Hillbrow in Johannesburg has a walkability score of 94 out of 100 across the 600 m around its centre, which makes it a Walker's Paradise, where daily errands do not require a car.
Is Hillbrow more walkable than the rest of Johannesburg?
Hillbrow is more walkable than Johannesburg as a whole: it scores 94, against 61 for the 5 km around Johannesburg's centre. It ranks 1st of the 5 Johannesburg neighbourhoods on How Walkable.
What are the most walkable neighbourhoods in Johannesburg?
Of the 5 Johannesburg neighbourhoods on How Walkable, the most walkable are Hillbrow (94), Braamfontein (92) and Jeppestown (77).
How is the walkability score of Hillbrow calculated?
The score counts groceries, restaurants, shops, cafés, banks, parks, schools, libraries and cultural venues within a 30 minute walk, gives nearer places more weight, and deducts up to 20% where streets are sparse or blocks are long. For Hillbrow it is the average of 61 points spread evenly across the 600 m around its mapped centre, leaving out water and land without streets, using open map data from Overture Maps and OpenStreetMap.
Scores follow a published walkability method, explained in the methodology. Neighbourhood position from Overture Maps, name from Wikidata.