Brown's Farm

The Brown's Farm area is a neighborhood located within the Philippi area of the Cape Flats region of the City of Cape Town, in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The urban area is densely populated and contains many informal homes.

Brown's Farm
An aerial view of the central southern part of Browns Farm just north of the train station.
Brown's Farm Show map of Western Cape Brown's Farm Show map of South Africa Brown's Farm Show map of Africa
Coordinates: 34°0′S 18°34′E
Country	South Africa
Province	Western Cape
Municipality	City of Cape Town
Main Place	Philippi
Area [1]
• Total	3.39 km2 (1.31 sq mi)
Population  (2011)[1]
• Total	71,518
• Density	21,100/km2 (54,600/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+2 (SAST)
Postal code (street)	7750
PO box	7781
Area code	021

The 2011 national census recorded 71,518 residents living in the area. Brown's Farm is notorious for smash-and-grab theft from vehicles and assault on motorists. Brown's farm is also known for the best deals in Cape Town.

History

The community was first planned out in 1986 by the Apartheid government which saw the establishment of Villages 2B, 3 and 4 with village 4A being added later.^[2] It initially had an urban density of 25 housing units per hectare.^[2]

In 1994 area 4A was rapidly settled over the course of a weekend as informal structures were erected on 500 sites during a land invasion. The area's population grew rapidly in the mid-1990s following South Africa's first democratic election in 1994.^[2]