Joburg finishes last in major global ranking

The city’s high crime rate and heavy car dependency are the key factors behind what makes it so difficult to walk around the richest city in Africa. 

The United States dominates the bottom of the list, accounting for seven of the ten worst-ranked cities, including Newark, Dallas, and Houston.This is largely driven by the historic car dependency of American cities. 

In stark contrast, European cities like Prague and Vienna were named the world’s most walkable, showcasing a global divide in urban design.

This was revealed in a global study by Compare the Market, which has analysed 90 cities worldwide based on factors like safety, walking infrastructure, and transport costs to reveal the least walkable cities in 2025.

The findings highlight a clear division between cities designed for people and those designed for cars, with a city’s walkability having a major impact on residents’ health, finances, and overall quality of life.

Johannesburg, South Africa, takes the spot as the world’s least walkable city, due largely to its extremely low safety score of 19.17 out of 100. 

Furthermore, a tiny percentage of residents commuting without a car highlights significant challenges in its urban infrastructure.

The city also lacks suitable infrastructure in the form of public transport, pushing many to commute via individual cars. 

The bottom of the ranking is overwhelmingly dominated by the United States, with major American cities suffering from the effects of car-centric urban planning. 

Common issues include low public transport usage, sprawling city layouts that place residents far from essential services, and a lack of safe, accessible walking and cycling infrastructure.

These cities stand in stark contrast to the world’s most walkable hubs. Prague, Czechia, which topped the global ranking, was praised for its high safety, low-cost public transport, and excellent access to services and car-free zones. 

Similarly, Vienna, Austria, which ranked second, impressed with its vast network of cycle paths and safe public spaces.

The ten least walkable cities in the world according to the study of 90 major urban areas can be seen in the table below. 

Johannesburg’s decline

South Africa’s economic hub of Johannesburg has been experiencing a rapid decline in recent years, borne out of historic mismanagement and leadership instability. 

Large parts of the city’s infrastructure need to be rebuilt effectively from scratch, as much of it was designed to last 25 years and has not been maintained. 

The city has been plagued by crumbling road infrastructure, constant water outages, and prolonged power cuts in some areas due to inadequate distribution infrastructure. 

Its current budget is insufficient to tackle this maintenance backlog, with years of neglect coming back to haunt the city. 

Johannesburg Roads Agency CEO Zweli Nyathi recently explained that the collapse of the city’s road infrastructure is a symptom of deeper issues. 

This includes inadequate budgets for maintenance, disputes between city authorities and the provincial government, and a lack of skills. 

“Let me be honest, we have just below 100 engineers for all of Johannesburg’s road infrastructure, which is not enough,” Nyathi said. 

A significant issue for the city is the age of its infrastructure. Inadequate maintenance has necessitated the complete rebuilding of large parts, as they cannot be saved in their current form. 

“We need to take into account that we are dealing with a city that is over one hundred years old, and much of its infrastructure was designed to last for only 25 years,” Nyathi said. 

“Some of these things were designed to be rebuilt from scratch and were never replaced, resulting in them steadily deteriorating.” 

“Again, one of the issues is that maintenance is very important, and when you only have a budget to roll out infrastructure, it catches up with you in the long run.”

Perhaps the most prominent symbol of Joburg’s decline is the inability of the city to give its residents access to basic services, particularly water. 

Johannesburg needs around R26 billion to halt the collapse of its water infrastructure alone, and it needs billions more to upgrade the system to cope with its growing population. 

This R26 billion simply covers Johannesburg catching up in infrastructure repair and maintenance – not expanding to accommodate a growing population. 

Joburg Water, owned by the municipality, currently spends around R1.2 billion on its water infrastructure. This will have to be ramped up significantly.

The city estimates that it needs R221 billion to address its maintenance backlog and deliver overdue infrastructure upgrades.

All the while, the city lost R24.4 billion in unauthorised, irregular, fruitless, and wasteful expenditure in recent years, with R3 billion being lost in 2024 alone. 

Issued on Daily Investor by Shaun Jacobs | https://dailyinvestor.com/south-africa/102059/joburg-finishes-last-in-major-global-ranking/