Johannesburg and the World Cup

In honor of the World Cup, I've been meaning for a while to write a post on Johannesburg and the effect the World Cup will have on it. Johannesburg is one of six cities profiled in Endless City (the others are Berlin, London, Mexico City, New York City, and Shanghai) and of those, it is far and away the most messed up. Johannesburg seems like Detroit only much worse. North and northwest of the city is a prosperous ring of closely guarded homes; in the middle there is violent crime, apartheid-level conditions and a hollowed-out downtown. In the southwest is Soweto, a historically black township with slum-like conditions and more violent crime. The original idea of this post was that the World Cup would benefit the prosperous parts of the city while neglecting the latter two. Or that, like most Olympics, the Cup would prove more of a detriment than anything else. Happily, this seems not to be the case: while benefits seem mixed, the World Cup in Johannesburg seems to be benefiting Soweto more than anyone else.
Two Cautions: Soweto contains roughly 800,000 people. It is a third of the city of Johannesburg's population, and roughly the size of Austin. What goes for part of it does not necessarily go for all of it. This WSJ article, while mostly about the ANC, also discusses economic disparity in Soweto. Also, there was a certain level of improvement in Soweto prior to the World Cup - malls, upper class development. electrification and paving of roads. However, it seems that more benefits have accrued through World Cup preparations.
Notably, Soccer City, the premier stadium for the Cup, is located in the middle of Soweto. The stadium has provided jobs, tourism, and prestige. Infrastructure improvements to beautify the area and reduce crime are also beneficial. But the real benefit, I think, is the new Nasrec train station, designed to accommodate up to 20,000 riders per hour. The station is also safer and prettier than what was there before.
Endless City emphasized the transportation deficits in Johannesburg, noting that a third of all trips are made on foot. This is a serious problem, since limited transit also limits economic opportunity. And if it is true that there is a strong correlation between public transportation and economic justice, then the much improved train station should yield dividends even after the tournament ends, and the crowds go away.