Soweto covers an area of 65 sq km (25 sq mi), extending about 16 km (10 mi) from east to west. Because it was developed as a temporary residential area, Soweto has few major civic buildings. The Regina Mundi cathedral and a sports stadium act as meeting places. Apartheid restrictions precluded the development of large shopping centers or businesses in Soweto, but thousands of tiny, street corner stands scattered around the township handle residents' everyday needs.
Most township housing consists of rows of identical, single-story matchbox houses, producing a monotonous urban landscape with few trees, gardens, parks, or playgrounds. These dwellings typically have running water, internal showers and external toilets, and house 12 to 15 people. Other formal housing includes hostels for unmarried or migrant workers and small middle-class and upper-class housing areas largely developed since 1980; one such area is known as Beverley Hills. Informal housing includes extensive backyard squatting and squatter settlements, such as Mshenguville, that have developed on areas of previously open land. Houses and squatters obtain water from small water towers found throughout Soweto that each serve 200 or more people. Open fires are widely used for heating and cooking, producing a serious air pollution problem. Soweto has a relatively advanced electricity network by South African township standards. A majority of Soweto's formal houses have electricity, and electrification has progressed since the end of apartheid.
