Edenvale, Gauteng


Edenvale is a town on the East Rand in Gauteng, South Africa. The greater Edenvale area has an estimated population of 70,000, including Greenstone, Harmelia, Highway Gardens, Buurendal and Croydon. Edenvale is part of the Ekurhuleni_Metropolitan_Municipality. It lies about halfway between the O.R. Tambo International Airport and the Johannesburg city centre and is located 12km by road from Sandton and about 9km from the closest Gautrain station.

History

It started out in 1903, after the Anglo Boer War as a small settlement named Rietfontein which sprung up around the Rietfontein Gold Mine. It was made a municipality in 1942. It was initially populated by Cornish mineworkers.

Suburbs of Edenvale

Residential suburbs include:
Clarens Park
De Klerkshof
Dowerglen
Dunvegan
Eastleigh
Edenglen
Elma Park
Hurlyvale
Illiondale
Isandovale
Marais Steyn Park
Rietfontein
Industrial suburbs include:
Sebenza
Eastleigh
Isandovale

Demographics

Edenvale is a busy town with ranges of middle-class areas such as Eastleigh and Croydon, to the more upper-class areas such as Dowerglen and Edenglen. Much of this has changed as the area has been widely diversified by immigration other parts of Africa, notably: Zambians and Malawians. It also hosts a large population of Portuguese, Greeks and Italians.

Economy

Retail

In the last ten years the area to the north of Edenvale has expanded significantly. Five malls have been erected, and , Eden Meadows, Stonehill Crossing and Green Valley as well as an array of complexes and townhouses, in an area now called Greenstone Hill and Greenstone Park, just west of Illiondale. This recent, yet rapid influx of infrastructure and added commercial business has bankrupted businesses in Van Riebeeck Avenue forcing numerous store owners to liquidate their capital investments.

Law and government

Government

In 1995, after the local government elections, Edenvale was amalgamated with some surrounding areas, including Modderfontein, Rabie Ridge Extensions 4 and 5, Chloorkop and the western part of Tembisa to form the Lethabong municipality, as part of the short-lived transitional Khayalami Metropolitan Council, which also included Midrand and Kempton Park/Tembisa. This arrangement ended in 2000, and Edenvale is now part of the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality, which includes much of the East Rand, while Modderfontein and Rabie Ridge became part of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality.