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The most walkable neighbourhoods in Johannesburg
By Oscar Higson-Spence. Updated
16 neighbourhoods of Johannesburg ranked by walkability, each scored across the area around its own centre. Ferreirasdorp and Hillbrow share the top score of 94/100, then Marshalltown (92) and Braamfontein (92). 7 of the 16 score 70 or more, where most errands can be done on foot, and the lowest we rank is Denver (41).
| # | Neighbourhood | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ferreirasdorp | 94 |
| 1 | Hillbrow | 94 |
| 3 | Marshalltown | 92 |
| 3 | Braamfontein | 92 |
| 5 | Richmond | 91 |
| 6 | Fordsburg | 82 |
| 7 | Jeppestown | 77 |
| 8 | Parktown | 68 |
| 9 | Rossmore | 65 |
| 10 | Franklin Roosevelt Park | 60 |
| 11 | Bassonia | 53 |
| 12 | Booysens | 52 |
| 13 | Claremont | 50 |
| 14 | Dewetshof | 49 |
| 15 | Westdene | 46 |
| 16 | Denver | 41 |
"From the centre" is the distance from Johannesburg's busiest point to the neighbourhood's centre. "Area scoring 70+" is the share of points across the neighbourhood where most errands can be done on foot.
The top 5 up close
Ferreirasdorp
Ferreirasdorp scores 94/100, 1.4 km south-west of Johannesburg's busiest point. It has the most libraries and bookshops of the five: 62 within a 30 minute walk, the nearest Limbada & Company, about 5 minutes away. More on Ferreirasdorp.
Hillbrow
Hillbrow scores 94/100, 1.2 km north of Johannesburg's busiest point. None of the others has as many schools, with 124 in a 30 minute walk; Than Do Pre School is the nearest, about 2 minutes away. Its thinnest category against the others is libraries and bookshops, with 20. More on Hillbrow.
Marshalltown
Marshalltown is the most central of these five, 1.1 km south of Johannesburg's busiest point, and scores 92/100. Shops are where it leads the others, 519 of them within a 30 minute walk, starting with Meat at Gandhi, about a minute away. 91% of its area scores 70 or more.
Braamfontein
Braamfontein scores 92/100, 1.2 km north-west of Johannesburg's busiest point. It has the most groceries of the five: 38 within a 30 minute walk, the nearest Pick n Pay, about 4 minutes away. 96% of its area scores 70 or more. More on Braamfontein.
Richmond
Richmond lies the furthest out of these five, 3.5 km north-west of Johannesburg's busiest point, and scores 91/100. 294 everyday places are mapped within a 30 minute walk of its middle, the nearest grocery about a minute away. It has the fewest banks of the five, 12.
Centre and outskirts
The 7 neighbourhoods within 3 km of Johannesburg's centre average 86, and the 9 further out average 56, so walkability falls away from the centre. The nearest to the centre, Marshalltown, 1.1 km away, scores 92, and the farthest, Claremont, 9.2 km out, scores 50.
Each dot is a ranked neighbourhood, numbered by rank and coloured by score, placed by its distance and direction from the centre of Johannesburg.
Johannesburg as a whole scores 61 out of 100 across the 5 km around its centre. Other cities in South Africa with ranked neighbourhoods: Cape Town, Durban, Pretoria.
Questions about Johannesburg's neighbourhoods
What is the most walkable neighbourhood in Johannesburg?
2 of the 16 neighbourhoods we rank in Johannesburg tie as the most walkable, each with a walkability score of 94 out of 100 (Walker's Paradise): Ferreirasdorp and Hillbrow.
Which neighbourhoods of Johannesburg are least walkable?
Of the 16 neighbourhoods we rank, the lowest scoring are Denver (41), Westdene (46) and Dewetshof (49). These are the best-known neighbourhoods with their own Wikipedia articles, so less walkable outer suburbs that are not ranked may score lower still.
How are Johannesburg's neighbourhoods ranked?
Each neighbourhood is scored at points 100 m to 500 m apart across a circle around its centre, sized to its area, and its score is the mean of those points. Each point's score counts the groceries, restaurants, shops, schools, parks and other everyday places within a 30 minute walk, as described in the methodology. Johannesburg scores 61 across the 5 km around its centre.
This page is generated from open map data with a published walkability method, explained in the methodology. Places from Overture Maps release 2026-09-23.1. Neighbourhoods and where they lie from Overture Maps and Wikidata.