The changing face of Linden
LINDEN – Linden has a new, younger crowd who are changing the demographics of the suburb.
The last stop before stepping into Randburg, the suburb of Linden has gone through many changes since it was officially included in the municipality of Johannesburg in 1939.
After the Second World War, urbanisation led the owners of large Linden properties to subdivide their farmlands into three or four stands, able to accommodate migrating people wanting to be closer to the city centre.
As councillor for the suburb, Bruce Herbert explained, nowadays plots are again being subdivided but for a different reason.
“The Linden community is aging but what is interesting is that their children and grand-children are coming out of university and coming to Linden because they can’t get jobs. So now you have the whole family – grandparents, children and grandchildren – all with their own dwelling on one stand.”
These young people are helping to change the face of Linden though what they have in common with their elders is that they support local trade. Some have opened businesses in the suburb while others stick to the restaurants and cafés close to home keeping Fourth Avenue and Fifth Street abuzz with commerce.
Though no longer the centre of the suburb’s activities, Third Avenue is still home to many of the places that make Linden so special such as bicycle heaven at Linden Cycle and a cheese lover’s treat at Cheese Gourmet.
With its coffee shops and foodie places mixed in between suburb staples such as Arthur Bales haberdashery, Linden is one of Johannesburg’s best kept secrets.
