Northern Suburbs, Cape Town

The Northern Suburbs is a major urban and rural region located in the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is the urban north-eastern part of the Greater Cape Town metropolitan area (Cape Metropole) that is functionally merged with Cape Town.

The northern suburbs of Cape Town are experiencing human trafficking, as of October 2023 they have encountered 74 human trafficking victims, 42 labour trafficking victims, 9 victims of unspecified trafficking activities, 23 sex trafficking victims, and an estimated overall sum of 250 000 victims in South Africa.

Geography
The region extends from Goodwood in the west to Kraaifontein, Brackenfell and Kuilsrivier in the east and north up to incorporate the rural village of Philadelphia.

The principal town is Bellville to the south of the Tygerberg Hills, which as of 2011 has a population of 112,507. Along with Bellville, the population density of the Northern Suburbs is concentrated along the N1 corridor including the towns of Goodwood (pop. 50,285), Parow (pop. 119,462), Brackenfell (44,842) and Kraaifontein (154,615). Bordering Bellville to the north among the Tygerberg Hills is the town of Durbanville (pop. 54,286) and along the R300 corridor bordering Bellville and Brackenfell is the town of Kuilsrivier (pop. 46,685). Though separate, these aforementioned towns have virtually become one due to development and urban sprawl and as a result have become known as the northern suburbs of Cape Town.

The Northern Suburbs’ borders encompass the vibrant townships of Bloekombos, Wallacedene and Scottsdene in Kraaifontein and the smaller township of Fisantekraal (pop. 12,369) just outside Durbanville.

Towards the extreme north of the Northern Suburbs about 20 kilometres (12.4 mi) from Durbanville are the rural settlements of Klipheuwel (pop. 2,294) and Philadelphia (pop. 570) which are the most isolated and least integrated areas within the Greater Cape Town metropolitan area.

Roads
The Northern Suburbs mainly lies along the N1 freeway which traverses through Goodwood, Parow, Bellville, Brackenfell and Kraaifontein, routing traffic north-east from Cape Town to Paarl and Worcester. The R300 freeway (Kuils River Freeway) connects the northern suburbs of Bellville, Brackenfell and Kuilsrivier with Mitchells Plain to the south. The N7 freeway lies to the far west of the northern suburbs linking Goodwood with Malmesbury to the north.

Rail
The Metrorail Western Cape commuter rail system connects Cape Town to the northern suburbs of Goodwood, Parow, Bellville, Brackenfell and Kraaifontein via the Northern Line and also connects Strand and Somerset West in the Helderberg region to the northern suburbs of Kuilsrivier and Bellville via the Strand Line.