As the city of Pretoria grew in light of industrial expansion in the 1960s more houses were constructed in the northern semi-rural holdings today known as Akasia.

With the growth of the manufacturing complex came a need for a large skilled and semi-skilled workforce nearby and by the late 1970s the small agricultural holdings in the area were being purchased and transformed into residential offerings with tree lined streets and green parks.

Small Somali shops and Congolese hairdressers have given the largely culturally monogamous area a new traditional dynamic.

Soon the character of Akasia will move from that of a residential area to that of a cosmopolitan development node with glass-draped sky-scrapers and an inter-national appeal.

[citation needed] Key features[citation needed] include the Wonder Park Shopping Centre, the Winternest train station and drivers testing station, schools such as Hoerskool Akasia, Hoerskool Gert-Marits, Laerskool Theresapark, Laerskool Akasia, Amandasig secondary school and Charlton Vos college.