Brixton walking tour - Saturday 8 June 2024 2pm

Join Open City for a walking tour exploring the changing architecture and varied townscape of Brixton – one of south London’s most unique and convivial town centres.

This insightful walking tour — led by spatial designer and writer Betty Owoo — will tell the story of Brixton’s local communities and how they responded to and shaped the architecture around them to create a bustling town centre full of conviviality which continues to flourish to this present day.

From rising rents to rapid gentrification, the identity of Brixton is shifting in the present era, and it is often these complex issues that prevail in narratives and media coverage about the neighbourhood. In the face of mounting pressures including market-led regeneration, relentless land acquistion and the fire sale of assets, this tour will explore how Brixton is continuing to foster its convivial spirit and create space for its diasporic communities.

The walk will celebrate civic-led stories about an area that is experiencing immense change, covering sites including Windrush Square and the Black Cultural Archives, George Finch's Grade II-listed Brixton Recreation Centre, Brixton Windmill, Edward "Ted" Hollamby's Blenheim Gardens Estate, and much more.

Five highlight buildings which feature as stops on the route: 
1. Brixton Recreation Centre
2. Brixton Rec Quarter Regeneration Zone (Pop Brixton, Nour Cash & Carry, 20-24 Pope’s Road) 
3. Black Cultural Archives
4. Blenheim Gardens Estate
5. Brixton Windmill

This tour is an updated version of a format developed by the Architecture Foundation Young Trustees for Open House Festival 2021. Called "Civic Rituals: A Love Letter to Brixton" the tour celebrated local pride, overlooked histories and forgotten memories and invited local stakeholders to share what Brixton means to them. The format was developed by Betty Owoo, Katie Fisher, Jasmin Yeo, Maria McLintock, and Quincy Haynes.

Key information

Tour start point: Brixton Recreation Centre Undercroft - opposite Brixton Station - Brixton Station Road entrance)

Address of Brixton Recreation Centre: 27 Brixton Station Road SW9 8QQ.

End point: Brixton Windmill Windmill Gardens, 100 Blenheim Gardens SW2 5DA. Limited tickets for Windmill tour on this date may be bookable via their website.

Distance: 1.5 miles / 2.4 km

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Betty Owoo is a Croydon-based spatial designer and writer interested in the potential of public service, policy and culture to shape urban environments for the better. Trained in architecture, she is energised by urban landscapes, and is curious about the intersection between architecture and ecology in the city. Her practice centres around championing underrepresented groups in the public realm.

She currently works at the Greater London Authority's Design Unit promoting quality and inclusion in the built environment through policy and development management. She is also a founding member of PATCH, a multidisciplinary group that uses writing as a springboard to create spatial interventions and design ephemeral events. She has written for Dezeen, the Architectural Review, the Architects’ Journal, Design Council, and Urban Design Group Journal. Betty joined the Open City tours team in 2024.