Mark Horner

Economy | Informal sector | Civil society | Tourist Industry
🇿🇦 Durban, nicknamed Durbs, is the third most populous city in South Africa and the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal. Durban forms part of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, which includes neighbouring towns, making the combined municipality one of the largest cities on the Indian Ocean coast of the African continent. Durban was also one of the host cities of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Durban was formerly named Port Natal due to its position as the chief seaport of South Africa, and its location on the Natal Bay of the Indian Ocean. Durban is a highly ethnically diverse city, with large Zulu, White, and Asian populations.
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Economy Sugar refining is one of Durban's main industries. South Africa produces 19.9 million tons of sugar cane a year and most of it comes from KwaZulu-Natal.
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Informal sector Durban has a number of informal and semiformal street vendors. The Warwick Junction Precinct is home to a number of street markets, with vendors selling goods from traditional medicine, to clothing and spices.

The city's treatment of shack dwellers was criticised in a report from the United Nations linked Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions and there has also been criticism of the city's treatment of street traders, street children and sex workers. The cannabis strain called 'Durban Poison' is named for the city.
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Civil society There are a number of civil society organisations based in Durban. These include: Abahlali baseMjondolo (shack-dwellers') movement, the Diakonia Council of Churches, the Right2Know Campaign, the South Durban Community Environmental Alliance and the South African Unemployed Peoples' Movement. The Durban Art Gallery was founded in 1892.
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Tourist Industry Durban has been named the greenest city in the world by Husqvarna Urban Green Space Index.

Nature reserves and other attractions in eThekwini include: • Burman Bush • Durban Botanic Gardens • Hawaan Forest • New Germany Nature Reserve • Pigeon Valley Nature reserve • Umgeni River Bird Park • Umhlanga Lagoon Nature Reserve • Kenneth Stainbank Nature Reserve • Mitchell Park Zoo • Moses Mabhida Stadium. Activities include a Skycar ride or Adventure Walk to the top of the arch with 360-degree views over Durban; Guinness world record Bungee swing; Segway gliding tours of the stadium; Cafes and Restaurants; Monthly I Heart Durban market; • Kingsmead Cricket Ground is a major test match and one-day cricket venue. • Kings Park Stadium is host to the internationally renowned Sharks Rugby Team. • Greyville Racecourse (home of the Durban July Handicap) and Durban Country Club and golf course. • Durban Ice Arena Activities include leisure ice skating, birthday parties, school excursions, sporting events, teambuilding activities, corporate functions and group bookings. • Gandhi in Durban Mohandas K. Gandhi (Mahatma Gandhi) spent time in Durban and there are several historical sites associated with him.
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Durban, KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa

Image: Adobe Stock delkoo #267067842

Durban is rated Gamma by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC) which evaluates and ranks the relationships between world cities in the context of globalisation. Gamma level cities are cities that link smaller economic regions into the world economy.

Durban was ranked #479 by the Nomad List which evaluates and ranks remote work hubs by cost, internet, fun and safety. Durban has a population of over 595,061 people. Durban also forms part of the wider eThekwini metropolitan area which has a population of over 3,158,313 people. Durban is ranked #568 for startups with a score of 0.301.

To set up a UBI Lab for Durban see: https://www.ubilabnetwork.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/UBILabNetwork

Durban is a member of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network for Literature see: https://en.unesco.org/creative-cities

Twin Towns, Sister Cities Durban has links with:

🇪🇬 Alexandria, Egypt 🇧🇪 Antwerp, Belgium 🇩🇪 Bremen, Germany 🇿🇼 Bulawayo, Zimbabwe 🇧🇷 Campinas, Brazil 🇺🇸 Chicago, USA 🇰🇷 Daejeon, South Korea 🇰🇷 Daejon, South Korea 🇮🇱 Eilat, Israel 🇨🇳 Guangzhou, China 🇰🇷 Gwangju, South Korea 🇹🇼 Kaohsiung, Taiwan 🇫🇷 Le Port, Réunion 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Leeds, England 🇲🇿 Maputo, Mozambique 🇻🇪 Maracaibo, Venezuela 🇹🇷 Mersin, Turkey 🇰🇪 Mombasa, Kenya 🇨🇳 Nansha District, China 🇫🇷 Nantes, France 🇺🇸 New Orleans, USA 🇩🇿 Oran, Algeria 🇳🇱 Rotterdam, Netherlands 🇨🇳 Wuhan, China

Text Atribution: Wikipedia Text under CC-BY-SA license | GaWC | Nomad | StartupBlink

Harold Wolseley Spicer |
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 🇿🇦 Architect Harold Wolseley Spicer is associated with Durban. He worked for the Public Works Department in Natal until 1917 when he moved to Johannesburg.
Segar Owen |
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Architect Segar Owen is associated with Durban. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1906.
Denis Santry |
🇮🇪 🇿🇦 Architect/Silversmith/Sculptor/Cartoonist/Painter Denis Santry is associated with Durban. He was at one time President of the Institute of Architects of Malaya.