Keeping It Real in Brixton Hill

Promenade dans un quartier authentique de Londres.

A Londres, la majorité des quartiers a bien changé. Les loyers ont explosé, chassant les habitants de longue date vers les lointaines banlieues en les remplacant par des populations plus aisées. A Brixton, au sud de la capitale britannique, quelques rues conservent pour le moment encore leur charme d’antan. Suivez le guide !

It’s no secret that Brixton, in the district of South London, has changed over the past decade. Once a neighborhood known for the shops, markets and food stalls of Brixton Village that reflected the cultural flavor of its multiracial residents, today in

place of locally owned businesses, Brixton is increasingly populated with chain restaurants, trendy burger joints and organic wine bar pop-ups.

2. The stalls are largely gone in Granville Arcade, the art deco indoor marketplace that was described by its founders in 1961 as “London’s Largest Emporium.” With high prices and upscale concepts, the shops in and about the arcade have been criticized for not catering to the needs of Brixton’s low-income and elderly residents.

3. Now it’s the small businesses run and owned by locals along a short stretch of a nearby road known as Brixton Hill that are successfully eschewing the onslaught of gentrification and proving that cool doesn’t have to come with a high price tag.

GO LOCAL

4. Lined with trees and grand Victorian buildings, many still boasting their original facades, Brixton Hill road is just five minutes from Brixton Village, between it and Streatham Hill. Its cheaper rents have made the street especially attractive to small businesses. “Rents are better here, but even if we did go into Brixton Village, there isn’t the local vibe that Brixton Hill has,” said Gus Mustafa, the owner of the Fish Lounge, a traditional fish and chips bar that opened there last September. “It’s only moments away from the center of Brixton, but Brixton Hill has a slower pace.”

5. Latanya Christie, the founder of Negril, an organic Caribbean restaurant, was also drawn to the road’s mellow vibe. She was one of the first to set up a business on the hill in 2005. With picturesque landscapes and easy access to the center of London, Brixton Hill became a prosperous suburb in the 19th century. The road’s old mansions are still accompanied by 150-foot-

long gardens. You can still see the old water pump station that once served the borough of Lambeth and the windmill that gave its name to one of London’s bestknown music destinations.

AUTHENTICY

6. Small-business owners like the grassroots energy of the area and hope that its increasing popularity won’t ruin its creative spirit. “Music has always been important to Brixton’s identity, but many of the original venues have been closed and replaced with private flats,” said Tony Reid, a pensioner who immigrated from Jamaica in the 1960s and has lived on a street off Brixton Hill ever since. “It’s the music and cultural history that made all the developers want to come to Brixton in the first place. On Brixton Hill that creative community spirit is still alive. This area is for real people.”

7. Francklin Evagle, the owner of Kata Kata, a vegetarian galette restaurant, has lived in the close-by neighborhood of Camberwell all his life and appreciates the authenticy of Brixton Hill. “My customers are local and happy to be in a place that is relaxed and fair with basic prices and honesty. That’s what this area is really good at. It’s honest.”