SOWETO is the most populous black urban residential area in the country, with Census 2001 putting its population at 896 995. Thanks to its proximity to Johannesburg, the economic hub of the country, it is also the most metropolitan township in the country - setting trends in politics, fashion, music, dance and language.

But the township was, from its genesis, a product of segregationist planning. It was back in 1904 that Klipspruit, the oldest of a cluster of townships that constitute present day Soweto, was established. The township was created to house mainly black labourers, who worked in mines and other industries in the city, away from the city centre. The inner city was later to be reserved for white occupation as the policy of segregation took root.

But it was not until 1963 that the acronym, Soweto, was adopted as the official name for the South Western Townships, following a four-year public competition on an appropriate name for the sprawling township.

The perennial problems of Soweto have, since its inception, included poor housing, overcrowding, high unemployment and poor infrastructure. This has seen settlements of shacks made of corrugated iron sheets becoming part of the Soweto landscape. Apartheid planning did not provide much in terms of infrastructure, and it is only in recent years that the democratic government has spearheaded moves to plant trees, develop parks, and install electricity and running water to some parts of the township.

The townships which make up Soweto are: Bram Fischerville Chiawelo Diepkloof Dobsonville Dlamini Dube Jabavu Emdeni Jabulani Killarney Klipspruit Mapetla Meadowlands Mofolo Molapo Moletsane Moroka Mzimhlophe Naledi Orlando Phefeni Phiri Phomolong Pimville Protea Glen Protea Senanoane Snake Park Tladi White City Zola Zondi

Soweto has also been a hotbed of many political campaigns that took place in the country, the most memorable of which was the 1976 student uprising. Other politically charged campaigns to have germinated in Soweto include the squatter movement of the 1940s and the defiance campaigns of the mid-to-late 1980s.

The area has also spawned many political, sporting and social luminaries, including Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu - two Nobel peace price laureates, who once lived in the now famous Vilakazi Street in Orlando West. Other prominent figures to have come from Soweto include boxing legend, Baby Jake Matlala, singing diva Yvonne Chaka Chaka and soccer maestro, Jomo Sono. Others include mathematician Prof Thamsanqa Kambule, medical doctor Nthato Motlana and prominent journalist Aggrey Klaaste.

The township has also produced the highest number of professional soccer teams in the country. Orlando Pirates, Kaizer Chiefs and Moroka Swallows all emerged from the township, and remain among the biggest soccer teams in the Premier Soccer League.

Homelessness has been a perennial feature of Soweto since its inception. With its uniform four-roomed matchbox houses, hostels and without trees, Soweto looks drab and grey. The hostels were built on the outskirts of various townships to house migrant workers who have historically lived on the fringes of Soweto communities.

With its high unemployment rate, the area has also spawned many gangsters and been a seedbed of criminal activity. Since the 1930s, various gangsters, mostly territorial formations of young, barely literate males, out of school and out of work, have come and gone.

The gangs come and go, fashions come and go, but the ubiquitous township continues to grow.

The extensions built in the 1980s to house the emerging middle class, mostly civil servants, have added some colour to the township.

Recent years have seen Soweto become a site of massive development projects and a major tourist attraction in the country.