Kinshasa
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Kinshasa (formerly French: Léopoldville, or Dutch: Leopoldstad) is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and is located on the Congo River. Once a site of fishing villages, Kinshasa is now a bustling city with a population of more than 7 million in 2004.[1] The city of Brazzaville (about 1.5 million inhabitants in 2007 with its suburbs),[2] capital of the Republic of Congo, lies just across the Congo River from Kinshasa. Together with Brazzaville, the combined conurbation of Kinshasa-Brazzaville has thus nearly 9 million inhabitants. Kinshasa ties with Johannesburg for the status of the second largest city in sub-Saharan Africa and the third largest in the whole continent after Lagos and Cairo. It is often considered the second largest francophone city in the world after Paris, though on criteria such as number of native speakers Montreal retains this distinction, as African languages, especially Lingala, are more widely spoken in Kinshasa than French is. If current demographic trends continue, Kinshasa will surpass Paris in population by the end of the 2010s.[3] [4]
[edit] Geography
Kinshasa is a city of sharp contrasts, with affluent residential and commercial areas and three universities coexisting side by side with sprawling slums. It is located along the south bank of the Congo River, directly opposite the city of Brazzaville, capital of the Republic of the Congo. This is the only place in the world where two national capital cities are on opposite banks of a river, in sight of each other. The Congo river is the second longest river in Africa after the Nile, and is the largest in terms of discharge. As a waterway it provides a means of transport for much of the Congo basin, being navigable for large river barges between Kinshasa and Kisangani, and many of its tributaries are navigable too. The river is an important source of hydroelectric power, and downstream of Kinshasa it has the potential to generate enough power equivalent to the usage by the whole continent. [edit] Demographics
[edit] HistoryThe city was founded as a trading post by Henry Morton Stanley in 1881 and named Léopoldville in honor of King Léopold II of Belgium, who controlled the vast territory that is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as a colony. The post flourished as the first navigable port on the Congo River above Livingstone Falls, a series of rapids over 300 kilometres (190 mi) below Leopoldville. At first, all goods arriving by sea or being sent by sea had to be carried by porters between Léopoldville and Matadi, the port below the rapids and 150 km (93 mi) from the coast. The completion of the Matadi-Kinshasa portage railway in 1898 provided a faster and more efficient alternative route around the rapids and sparked the rapid development of Léopoldville. By 1920, the city was elevated to capital of the Belgian Congo, replacing the town of Boma in the Congo estuary. When the Belgian Congo became independent of Belgium in 1960, Dutch was dropped as an official language.[citation needed] In 1965 Mobutu Sese Seko seized power in the Congo in his second coup and initiated a policy of "Africanizing" the names of people and places in the country. In 1966, Léopoldville was renamed Kinshasa for a village named Kinchassa that once stood near the site. The city grew rapidly under Mobutu, drawing people from across the country who came in search of their fortunes or to escape ethnic strife elsewhere. This inevitably brought about a change to the city's ethnic and linguistic composition as well. Although it is situated in territory that traditionally belongs to the Bateke and Bahumbu people, the lingua franca in Kinshasa today is Lingala. In 1974, Kinshasa hosted the 'Rumble in the Jungle' boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, in which Ali defeated Foreman to regain the World Heavyweight title. Kinshasa suffered greatly due to Mobutu's excesses, mass corruption, nepotism and the civil war that led to his downfall. Nevertheless, it is still a major cultural and intellectual center for Central Africa, with a flourishing community of musicians and artists. It is also the country's major industrial center, processing many of the natural products brought from the interior. The city has recently had to fend off rioting soldiers who were protesting the government's inability to pay them. Kinshasa had the earliest documented HIV-1 infection, which dates from 1959 and was discovered in the preserved blood sample of a local man (see AIDS origin). [edit] AdministrationKinshasa is both a city (ville in French) and a province (province in French), one of the 11 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its status is thus similar to Paris which is both a city and one of the 100 departments of France. [edit] Administrative divisionsThe city-commune (ville-province) of Kinshasa is divided into 24 communes (municipalities). The commercial and administrative heart of Kinshasa is the commune of La Gombe. The commune of Kinshasa gave its name to the whole city, but it is neither the commercial nor the administrative heart of the metropolis.
[edit] Buildings and institutionsMajor areas of the city include the Cité de l'OUA, home to the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Commune de Matonge, known regionally for its nightlife, L'ONATRA, the impressive building of the Ministry of Transport and the residential area of Gombe. Notable features of the city include the SOZACOM Building and Hotel Memling skyscrapers, the central market, the Kinshasa Museum and the Kinshasa Fine Arts Academy. The Boulevard du 30 Juin (Boulevard of the 30th June) links main the areas of the city. Kinshasa is home to the country's national stadium, the Stade des Martyrs (Stadium of the Martyrs). [edit] EducationKinshasa is home to several higher-level education institutes, covering a wide range of specialties, from civil engineering to nursing and journalism. The city is also home to three large universities and an arts school:
[edit] MediaKinshasa is home to a large number of radio and TV stations. The National TV is housed in the city. Its two channels reach more or less the entire country.[citation needed] In addition to these stations, there are nearly a dozen terrestrial stations reaching the environs of the city, and sometimes a bit beyond. Most of the media uses French and Lingala to a large extent; very few use the other national languages. [edit] Transport
 
[edit] Internal transportSeveral private companies whose Urban Transport Company (STUC) and the Public City train (12 bus in 2002) désservent the city. The bus lines are:
Other companies also provide public transport: Urbaco, Tshatu Trans, Socogetra, Gesac and MB Sprl. The city bus carrying a maximum of 67 000 passengers per day. Several companies operate taxis and taxi-bus. The majority (95.8%) transport is provided by individuals. The city is considering the creation of a tramway in collaboration with public transport in Brussels (STIB), whose work could start in 2009 and would be completed around 2012-2015. The issue of electricity remains suspended [4]. THE ONATRA operates three lines of urban railways linking the town centre device, which goes to Bas-Congo [5].
[edit] Port of Kinshasa and external transportKinshasa is the major river port of the Congo. The port, called 'Le Beach Ngobila' extends for about 7 km (4 mi) along the river, comprising scores of quays and jetties with hundreds of boats and barges tied up. Ferries cross the river to Brazzaville, a distance of about 4 km (2 mi). River transport also connects to dozens of ports upstream, such as Kisangani and Bangui. There are road and rail links to Matadi, the sea port in the Congo estuary 150 km (93 mi) from the Atlantic Ocean. There are no rail links from Kinshasa further inland, and road connections to much of the rest of the country are few and in poor condition. The city has two airports, N'Djili International Airport with connections to other African countries as well as to Brussels, Paris, and Madrid; and N'Dolo Airport. [edit] Famous people from Kinshasa
[edit] TriviaKinshasa is officially nicknamed “Kin la Belle” (Kinshasa The Beautiful), but since the collapse of public services and neglect some of its residents have ironically changed the nickname into “Kin la Poubelle” (Kinshasa the dustbin).[8] [edit] See also
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