A City Improvement District (CID) is a defined geographic area within which property owners agree to pay for supplementary and complimentary services set to enhance the physical and social environment of the area. In Gauteng, CID applications to local authorities are considered in terms of the Gauteng City Improvement District Act No. 12 0f 1997, which was approved by the Gauteng provincial legislature on 9 December 1997. In some other provinces CID's are established in terms of local authority by-laws.

THE CID IS:

• A management tool to enhance property values; 
• A system of co-operation and cost-sharing among private sector interests; 
• A way of sustaining funds applied to all benefiting properties and based on a mandatory assessment of those businesses; 
• Authorised by national, provincial or city law; Defines the roles and responsibilities of both the CID and local government; 
• Managed through a Section 21 company and directed through a board of elected business and property representatives from the area.

" Office and retail refurbishments have been the predominant trend in the district There has been a growing trend of residential densification within and on the immediate border of SCMD providing high-income earners with luxury accommodation.

Sandton Central is perceived as a good place for businesses and many shop owners / tenants are unlikely to move their businesses because of this factor. It remains the place of choice for client-based businesses as they need to be close to their customers many of whom are in the Sandton Central area.

"Office and retail refurbishments have been the predominant trend in the district There has been a growing trend of residential densification within and on the immediate border of SCMD providing high-income earners with luxury accommodation.

Sandton Central is perceived as a good place for businesses and many shop owners / tenants are unlikely to move their businesses because of this factor. It remains the place of choice for client-based businesses as they need to be close to their customers many of whom are in the Sandton Central area.

The 1990's saw a change in the make-up of Sandton, with an influx of businesses and particularly banking institutions, moving to the area. The construction of the Sandton Convention Centre in 2000 was an important catalyst in bringing business people to the area and encouraging then to stay in the many up-market hotels already operating in Sandton. When the Johannesburg Securities Exchange left the inner city for Sandton in 2001, the commercial hub of Africa really began to take shape.