Jozi suburb voted one of the world's 40 coolest and kindest neighbourhoods

07 October 2020 - 14:02 By Toni Jaye Singer
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Melville, Johannesburg, has ranked number 33 on Time Out's 2020 list of the world's 40 coolest neighbourhoods.
Melville, Johannesburg, has ranked number 33 on Time Out's 2020 list of the world's 40 coolest neighbourhoods.
Image: Alon Skuy/Sunday Times

International city guide Time Out has released its annual list of the world's 40 coolest neighbourhoods - and Jozi’s eclectic suburb of Melville has again made the cut.

In fact, Melville is even cooler than before, having moved up 15 places from last year when it was ranked number 48.

The list, which features those neighbourhoods that are “the places to be for food and fun, art and culture, atmosphere and personality”, is based on the results of the 2020 Time Out Index Survey and the opinions of Time Out’s editors and experts.

In light of the Covid-19 pandemic, this year Time Out also sought to highlight those “areas where people, community and businesses have helped each other through shared tribulations”. As they put it, “right now, more than ever, it’s cool to be kind”.

The Time Out website describes Melville as being a “joyous, everyone-knows-everyone kind of place”.

It pinpoints the Viva Foundation’s Melville Food Parcel Programme, which saw volunteers providing 300,000 meals to those in need during lockdown, as being indicative of the suburb’s “sociable and solidarity spirit”.

WHICH OTHER GLOBAL CITIES MADE THE LIST?

The “authentic Barcelona neighbourhood” of Esquerra de l’Eixample in Spain took the number one spot. Covid-19 saw residents creating a mutual support network to help the area’s most vulnerable, as well as organising mass dance parties on their balconies to keep the community’s spirits up.

Downtown Los Angeles, which came in second place, is said to have become the American city’s “supportive soul” during this difficult year.

Rounding out the top three is Sham Shui Po, one of Hong Kong’s oldest neighbourhoods that has recently been revitalised by young creatives.

To see the full list of the 40 coolest neighbourhoods in the world, visit Time Out's website.


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