• Overcrowding of the inner city with migrants who are unemployed hoping for employment and/ or are unable to pay the housing rent leads to a serious decay of the flats/buildings in the inner city:

• functioning toilets (7%)
• electricity (3%)
• drains that are regularly blocked (20%)
• leaking water pipes (25%).

• Affordability of health care issues
• Inefficient transport to health care facilities

• Most diseases are as a result of poor water, air and soil quality (dust from undisturbed slime dams, chemical fumes, odours, aerosols and solvents) include serious diseases such as asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia, emphysema, lung cancer, and even death in severe cases, (EMSS, LDO, June 1997).
• Polluted water causes serious diseases such as diarrhea, cholera, and fever which results in the deaths of many people (especially children).
• Income, poverty, environmental quality, and health are linked and influence the life expectancy of the people.

• Unemployment are dependent on social pensions and remittance, making them highly dependent on state-run support systems
• Low education levels

• There is a cultural and political divide in the country about what part of South African history should be considered sacred and what not. Some South Africans feel that the ancient history of apartheid should not be reflected in their buildings, while others feel that it should. This history also causes Greater Johannesburg to be divided.

• The Greater Johannesburg area also does not have an adequate budget to maintain all their historical sites. These sites are not being effectively used to generate an income for their own upkeep. These sites sometimes have a negative impact on the surrounding areas and this is driven by the fact that development in the area will be limited because of the building, land use and traffic restrictions brought by the historical site in that area.

• Exploitation of land use reduces the potential of conservation areas, for example illegal squatting and mining activities.
• The slow rate at which people are getting access to effective water services and the lack of education about the efficient use of this service, is contributing to continued wastage and loss of water.
• In the poorer communities and informal settlements, a lack of water and education are the main driving forces, while ignorance and wastage create problems in the richer northern suburbs.
• Population growth and industrial development are putting extreme pressures on energy consumption.

• The northern areas of the WMSS are rapidly being encroached by the extensive housing development in the area. Presently there is no cohesive plan to integrate the environmentally suitable land into any sustainable system. Legislation is needed to support environmental planning (WMLC: LDO, 1997).
• The increasingly built up nature of the local environment has altered the hydrology of watercourses. Increased impermeable surfaces, stormwater systems, soil compaction and the decreased number of natural water retention systems, have speeded up the delivery of water into watercourses. Flows thus peak faster and flood level lines have as such extended NMLC: LDO, 1997). Numerous developments already fall within the 1 in 50 year flood line, and increased developments are increasing flood events.
• Business nodes of increased activity and development, especially close to conservation areas.

• Past planning policy resulted in areas to the north having a greater advantage over areas in the south in terms of allocated open spaces and parks. Greater Johannesburg has the highest percentage of trees in an urban area, but this is only evident in the northern areas. The southern areas have an untapped potential from an environmental perspective.
• Safety and security problems in parks in the Northern Metropolitan Local area result in the under-utilisation of these areas (NMLC: LDO, 1997). Parks in this area are not well maintained and need to be improved.
• The increased population growth and development are reducing the amount of parks in the area.
• Mining activity occurs throughout Greater Johannesburg, limiting the amount of open spaces and development potential for recreational facilities. The mining companies often leave this land fallow and it is seen as wasted space rather than open space.
• Lack of funding prohibits efficient and sustainable use of open land.
• Lack of management and maintenance of open spaces in the southeastern parts of Soweto has led to numerous scrapyards, illegal dumping sites, urban agricultural areas and informal settlements.
• Waste management and removal: many open spaces in the NMLC are under threat from illegal dumping and littering (NMLC: LDO, 1997). As a result no formal open space system exists in the Diepkloof/Orlando areas and open spaces are not utilised to their full potential.
• Population growth, the development of businesses and industries, and the fact that Greater Johannesburg is becoming more built up are core driving forces which all impact on parks and open space survival.

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH

Population growth and distribution
The number of people play an important role in relation to the pressures on the environment as well as an increase demand for infrastructure which impact on health should it be inadequate.

Population percentage distribution
The majority of the population is situated within the SMLC which is also the area that is characterized by high densities, high levels of low education levels, poor income levels and high levels of poor infrastructure and service delivery as well as poor environmental quality.

Population composition by age
A large number (20,63%) of people in the age category 25-34, migrate into Greater Johannesburg for job opportunities

Since 1980 the population growth rate of Greater Johannesburg has been approximately 1,1%, while large disparities in growth rates do exist within greater Johannesburg - the annual population growth rate of the towns in Greater Johannesburg ranges between 0,14% and 4,29%.

• High crime rates

• Health care facilities

• Infant mortality rate

• Mortality rates