City-regions should provide a high quality of life to many of its residents and citizens. The GCR, producing 43% of South Africa’s GDP, is no different, with some citizens living a lifestyle that would not be out of place in any of the great cities of the world. 

City-regions offer exposure to culture, safe spaces, green spaces, as
well as work opportunities in globally competitive companies.

However, city-regions can also be alienating places, where
marginalisation may lead to criminal tendencies as well as physical
and mental ‘unwellness’.

Inevitably there are those who do not ‘make it’ and become pushed to the fringes of the city-region, for a range of reasons including racism, xenophobia, psycho-social challenges, poverty, and so on.