Editing Gaborone (section)

==History==
{{Main|History of Gaborone|Timeline of Gaborone}}
[[File:Stamp Bechuanaland Protectorate 1938 6p.jpg|125px|thumb|left|A postage stamp circa 1943, the postmark reading "Gaborone's Village"]]
[[File:1966 Mayor Gaborone.JPG|125px|thumb|left|Rev. [[Derek Jones (mayor)|Derek Jones]], the first mayor of Gaborone|alt=]]
Evidence shows that there have been inhabitants along the [[Notwane River]] for centuries. In more recent history, the [[Tlokwa]] left the [[Magaliesberg]] ranges to settle in the area around 1880, and called the settlement ''[[Moshaweng]]''. The word "Gaborone" literally means "it does not fit badly" or "it is not unbecoming".<ref name=tourismboard>{{cite web|url=http://www.botswanatourism.co.bw/sites/default/files/publications/southern_botswana.pdf |title=Travel Companion – Southern Botswana |work=Travel Companion |publisher=Botswana Tourism Board |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807162203/http://www.botswanatourism.co.bw/assests/southern_botswana.pdf |archive-date=7 August 2011 |access-date=31 May 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The city was then called "Gaberones" by early European colonizers.<ref name=lonelyplanet>{{cite book |last1=Hardy |first1=Paula|last2=Firestone |first2=Matthew D. |title=Botswana & Namibia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HSAs1_B-93YC&pg=PA74 |access-date=4 August 2009 |year=2007 |publisher=Lonely Planet |isbn=978-1-74104-760-8 |chapter=Gaborone |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HSAs1_B-93YC&pg=PA74 |pages=75–88}}</ref> Gaberones, a shortening of "Gaborone's Village", was named after [[Chief Gaborone]] of the Tlokwa,<ref name=seth /> whose home village (now called [[Tlokweng]]) was across the river from the Government Camp, the name of the colonial government headquarters. The nickname, "GC", comes from the name "Government Camp".<ref name=history1 /> In 1890, [[Cecil John Rhodes]] picked Gaberones to house a colonial fort.<ref name=history2>{{cite web |title=African cities- Gaborone History |url=http://gaborone.info/php/gabhist.php?name=Gaborone%20History |work=Gaborone.info |publisher=AfricanCities.net |access-date=4 August 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721202338/http://gaborone.info/php/gabhist.php?name=Gaborone%20History |archive-date=21 July 2011 }}</ref> The fort was where Rhodes planned the [[Jameson Raid]].<ref name=lonelyplanet /> The city changed its name from Gaberones to Gaborone in 1969.<ref>{{cite news | title = Regions Given New Spelling | url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7bszAAAAIBAJ&dq=gaborone&pg=7329%2C1913552 | agency = Associated Press | newspaper = Spokane Daily Chronicle | location = Spokane, Washington, USA | date = 22 December 1969 | page = 11 | access-date = 11 July 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151117044134/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7bszAAAAIBAJ&sjid=IfgDAAAAIBAJ&dq=gaborone&pg=7329%2C1913552 | archive-date = 17 November 2015 | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>Britannica,
[https://www.britannica.com/place/ Gaborone Gaborone], britannica.com, USA, accessed on July 7, 2019</ref>

The modern town was only founded in 1964, after a decision was taken to establish a capital for Botswana, which became a self governing territory in 1965, before becoming a fully independent republic on 30 September 1966.

In 1965, the capital of the [[Bechuanaland Protectorate]] moved from [[Mahikeng|Mafeking]] to Gaberones.<ref>Roman Adrian Cybriwsky, ''Capital Cities around the World: An Encyclopedia of Geography, History, and Culture'', ABC-CLIO, USA, 2013, p. 113</ref> When Botswana gained its independence, [[Lobatse]] was the first choice as the nation's capital.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Books|first=L. L. C.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WLJESwAACAAJ|title=Settlements in Botswan: Cities, Towns and Villages in Botswana, Gaborone, Palapye, Moshupa, Serowe, Francistown, Maun, Ghanzi, Hukuntsi|date=June 2010|publisher=General Books|isbn=978-1-157-93814-9|language=en}}</ref> However, Lobatse was deemed too limited, and instead, a new capital city would be created next to Gaberones.<ref name=history1>{{cite web|first=Purity |last=Njeru |title=History of Gaborone |url=http://www.africanexecutive.com/modules/magazine/articles.php?article=703 |publisher=[[The African Executive]] |location=Nairobi, Kenya |year=2009 |access-date=4 August 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707100754/http://www.africanexecutive.com/modules/magazine/articles.php?article=703 |archive-date=7 July 2011 }}</ref> The city was chosen because of its proximity to a fresh water source, its proximity to the railway to [[Pretoria]], its central location among the central tribes, and its lack of association with those surrounding tribes.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Seth |first1=Willie |title=Botswana and Its People |year=2008 |publisher=New Africa Press|isbn=978-0-9814258-7-0 |chapter=Major urban centres |pages=44–46}}<!--|access-date=4 August 2009 --></ref>

The city was planned under [[Garden city movement|Garden city principles]] with numerous pedestrian walkways and open spaces.<ref name=economy>{{Cite book|last1= Keiner|first1=Marco|last2= Zegras|first2=Christopher|last3= Schmid|first3=Willy A.|editor1-last= Keiner|editor1-first= Marco|editor2-last= Zegras|editor2-first= Christopher|editor3-last= Schmid|editor3-first= Willy A.|display-editors = 3 |editor4-last= Salmerón|editor4-first= Diego | title =From understanding to action: sustainable urban development in medium-sized cities in Africa and Latin America|pages=19, 63, 68, 93 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=eHZYT0-SsSEC | publisher=Springer|year=2004|isbn=978-1-4020-2879-3 | access-date =6 August 2009}}</ref> Building of Gaborone started in mid-1964. During the city's construction, the chairman of Gaberones Township Authority, Geoffrey Cornish, likened the layout of the city to a "brandy glass" with the government offices in the base of the glass and businesses in the "mall", a strip of land extending from the base.<ref name=Eugene>{{cite news | title = Capital City Being Built On Virgin Soil | author = Paine, David J. | url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7uQQAAAAIBAJ&dq=gaberones&pg=4458%2C3421646 | archive-url = https://archive.today/20130102232505/http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7uQQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=-OADAAAAIBAJ&dq=gaberones&pg=4458,3421646 | url-status=dead | archive-date = 2 January 2013 | agency = Associated Press | newspaper = Eugene Register-Guard | location = Eugene, Oregon, USA | date = 15 April 1966 | at = section D, p. 3 | access-date =11 July 2010 }}</ref>

Most of the early town was built within three years, as a small town designed to accommodate 20,000 people – only to later develop after independence into a modern city. Buildings in early Gaborone include assembly buildings, government offices, a power station, a hospital, schools, a radio station, a telephone exchange, police stations, a post office, and more than 1,000 houses.<ref name=architecture>{{cite web |author=killion |title=The Unsustainable urban growth of Gaborone City, Botswana |url=http://www.boidus.co.uk/?p=1188 |publisher=Boidus: Blogs |date=29 June 2009 |access-date=4 August 2009 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121111202355/http://www.boidus.co.uk/?p=1188 |archive-date=11 November 2012 }}</ref> Because the town was built so quickly, there was a massive influx of labourers who had built illegal settlements on the new city's southern industrial development zone. These settlements were named Naledi. The latter term literally means "the star", but could also mean "under the open sky" or "a community that stands out from all others". In 1971, because of the growth of illegal settlements, the Gaborone Town Council and the Ministry of Local Government and Lands surveyed an area called Bontleng, which would contain low-income housing. However, Naledi still grew, and the demand for housing was greater than ever. In 1973, the Botswana Housing Corporation (BHC) built a "New Naledi" across the road from the "Old Naledi". Residents from Old Naledi would be moved to New Naledi. However, the demand for housing increased yet again; moreover, the residents who relocated to New Naledi disliked the houses. The problem was solved in 1975 when Sir [[Seretse Khama]], the president of Botswana, rezoned Naledi from an industrial zone to a low-income housing area.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Old Naledi, the village becomes a town: an outline of the Old Naledi Squatter Upgrading Project, Gaborone, Botswana|last=Van Nostrand|first=John Cornelius|publisher=James Lorimer & Company|year=1982|isbn=978-0-88862-650-9|access-date=19 September 2009|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qGjfAc4J1yUC&pg=PP13|chapter=Old Naledi: History of Settlement|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qGjfAc4J1yUC&pg=PP13|pages=13–15}}</ref>

On 30 September 1966, [[Bechuanaland Protectorate|Bechuanaland]] became the eleventh [[British dependency]] in Africa to become independent. The first [[Gaborone City Council#List of mayors|mayor of Gaborone]] was Reverend [[Derek Jones (mayor)|Derek Jones]].<ref name=jones>{{Cite book | last =Grant | first =Sandy | date =18 June 2009 | title =Our Heritage. | location =Gaborone, Botswana | publisher =[[Mmegi|Mmegi Online]] | url =http://www.mmegi.bw/index.php?sid=6&aid=12&dir=2009/June/Thursday18 | access-date =6 August 2009 | volume =26 | issue =91 | url-status =dead | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20120223122431/http://www.mmegi.bw/index.php?sid=6&aid=12&dir=2009%2FJune%2FThursday18 | archive-date =23 February 2012 }}</ref> The old Gaberones became a suburb of the new Gaborone, and is now known as "the Village".<ref name=history1 />

In the mid-1980s, South Africa attacked Botswana and conducted raids on Gaborone and other border towns. The [[Raid on Gaborone]] resulted in twelve deaths.

After the [[Botswana general election, 1994|1994 General Elections]], riots started in Gaborone because of high unemployment and other issues.<ref name=botswana />

Today, Gaborone is growing very rapidly. In 1964, Gaborone only had 3,855 citizens;<ref name=BALA>{{Cite book|last=Maundeni |first=Zibani |title=Mapping Local Democracy in Gaborone City |url=http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/bueros/botswana/04915.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309233840/http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/bueros/botswana/04915.pdf |archive-date=9 March 2012 |access-date=3 August 2010 |date=June 2004 |publisher=Botswana Association of Local Authorities |isbn=99912-564-2-3 |url-status=dead }}</ref> seven years later, the city had almost 18,000 residents.<ref name=census3>{{cite web|author=Central Statistics Office|title=Table 1.6: Distribution of Population in Urban Settlements: 1971–2001 Censuses|url=http://www.cso.gov.bw/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=147|access-date=27 December 2009|location=Gaborone, Botswana|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091113195559/http://www.cso.gov.bw/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=142&Itemid=89|archive-date=13 November 2009}}</ref> The city originally planned on 20,000 citizens, but by 1992, the city had 138,000 people. This has led to many squatter settlements on undeveloped land.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Carr|first1=Michael | title =New patterns: process and change in human geography|chapter=The form and future shape of the modem city|page=224|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7lKIMAS_7hoC&pg=PA211 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=7lKIMAS_7hoC&pg=PA224 | publisher=Nelson Thornes|year=1997|edition=2nd|isbn=978-0-17-438681-0 | access-date =6 August 2009}}</ref> Former mayor Veronica Lesole has stated that Gaborone's development problems were caused by the original city planners.<ref>{{cite web|title=Garden City Concept is a thing of the past, says Richard Rogers|url=http://boidus.co.bw/blog/?p=2295|publisher=Boidus.co.bw|access-date=9 October 2011|date=15 July 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425052329/http://boidus.co.bw/blog/?p=2295|archive-date=25 April 2012}}</ref>