The World in One Place The area that is currently known as the Central Business District has been the central area of Johannesburg nearly since its inception. Its central location in the city as well as careful planning led to it to be chosen as the best location for a mix of residential and commercial development, especially during the economically prosperous 1960s and 1970s. Many large constructions were completed in this period, such as the Carlton Centre, which is still the tallest building in Africa. Under the apartheid, the Central Business District was classified as a whites-only area, meaning that black people were only allowed to work and shop there, but could not live there. It completely changed when the race segregation system ended in 1990. In the post apartheid time the CBD became more accessible for non white groups for both living and working. Unfortunately a crime wave swept through the city and many businesses and people fled from areas such as Braamfontein, Hillbrow, and Yeoville for more secured houses or offices in the Northern Suburbs of Johannesburg. It was the start of the richest mile in Africa, the city of Sandton. By the late 1990s, the Central Business District became a no-go zone and a virtual ghost town. All its former glory was lost, and the city was shattered by the loss of the Carlton Hotel. It was in 2008 when I started to photograph the urban decay in the city of J’oburg and since then I came back for substential working periods. Evicted buildings re-occupied by illegal residents became the rotten teeth in the citylandscape. For more then 10 years I have been trying to understand such lack of human care that I saw in these urban environments all over the city. 15 years of severe economical and social problems such as poverty, housing, drugabuse and immigration had left its marks on the health of Johannesburg. Gentrification slightly changed some lower suburbs but the contrasts in the Central Business District only relocated. To me the theme of human extinction is applicable the condition humaine of Johannesburg. Hans Wilschut 2019