     alexandra or alex for short, is a township located in gauteng province, south africa. it is part of johannesburg, close to the wealthy area of sandton and is bounded by wynberg on the west, marlboro and kelvin on the north, kew, lombardy west and lombardy east on the south. it is commonly known as "gomorrah" among local residents.south africa: running with white people alexandra is one of the poorest urban areas in the country. alexandra is situated on the banks of the jukskei river. in addition to its original, reasonably well-built houses, it also has a large number (estimated at more than 20,000) of informal dwellings or "shacks". == history == ===early history=== alexandra was established in 1912, on land originally owned by a farmer, a mr. papenfus, who tried to establish a white residential township there, naming it after his wife, alexandra. however, because it was (at the time) a considerable distance from the center of johannesburg, this was not a great success. consequently, in 1912, alexandra was proclaimed as a so-called "native township". because the township was proclaimed before the south african 1913 land act, it was one of the few urban areas in the country where black people could own land under a freehold title. by 1916, the population of alexandra had grown to 30,000 people and thus the alexandra health committee was established to manage the township. however, the committee was not allowed to collect local taxes, nor was the johannesburg city council willing to take responsibility for an area that it claimed fell outside its jurisdiction, leading to a lack of resources and proper management. when the national party came into power in 1948 and started to implement its policy of apartheid, alexandra was put under the direct control of the then department of native affairs. ===1950â2000=== [[image:local residents of alexandra township.jpg|thumb|left|300px|local residents of 15th ave, alexandra
1912_establishments_in_South_Africa Johannesburg_Region_E Populated_places_established_in_1912 Townships_in_Gauteng