The spray paint was still wet on the 8ft-high plywood letters when local people started adding their own messages of support. "We love Brixton" the plywood spelled out; we agree, hundreds of local people said. It was an impressive backdrop for the area's MP, Tessa Jowell, when she stood in Windrush Square to defend Brixton against its detractors.
On the same day, Tottenham in the London borough of Haringey also launched its I Love Tottenham campaign. As in Brixton, it was a local attempt to offset the collateral and reputation damage caused by the riots. However, the community rally in Tottenham seemed to lack the confidence that Brixton's carried.
Unlike Tottenham, Brixton's cultural appeal appears to be untouched by the recent disorders. Middle-class families still want to move to Brixton and the area continues to have an appeal beyond its boundaries. Whereas the Tottenham MP, David Lammy, has pleaded with the British public to remember Tottenham, Jowell was able to boast about Brixton's popularity when stating that "people come from all over London to eat in Brixton and enjoy Brixton". This contrast is curious considering the parallels between the two areas: both have had the same turbulent relationship with the police and a similar history of riots and radical activism.
Brixton, in stark contrast to Tottenham, has been able to transform itself into a cultural hotspot by the way it has told its story. Like Brooklyn in the US, the south London district has embraced and commodified its history – even the controversial and radical parts – and this is now central to its cultural appeal. The Brixton pound, a local currency to encourage spending in local stores, features images of the educationalist and historian, Len Garrison, the feminist and Marxist activist, Olive Morris and the radical historian, CLR James: three local figures proudly embraced as central to Brixton's story.
The Brixton pound is a literal commodification of the local community's story for reinvestment into Brixton's local community. Beyond this, Brixton's cultural landmarks – the Academy concert venue, the Ritzy cinema and the new £6.5m Black Cultural Archives that will open Autumn 2012 – are further evidence of how Brixton has regenerated itself by harnessing its cultural appeal and transforming its reputation from a liability into a story people wanted to share without censoring the history of its riots.
Tottenham's intellectual and cultural story is just as rich, and its community can learn from Brixton. Telling the total story of Tottenham will elevate the area's story, bringing new audiences and the investment new audiences bring to Tottenham. And there is much to tell.
Tottenham is home to a cultural renaissance, but so far it has been a well-kept secret. The changing landscape of urban music, which has moved from the fringes into the mainstream, gives Tottenham contemporary relevance. Chart-topping artists and rising stars, Wretch 32, Adele, Chipmunk, Marvel, Bluey Robinson, Yolanda Adams, JME and Skepta all have roots in Tottenham. A culturally led local development strategy would allow the local community to harness their own competitive advantage, themselves.
Performance art, music, urbanism and even conflict are part of Tottenham's identity. Telling the whole story of Tottenham will elevate the area, bringing new audiences and the investment that comes with this to Tottenham.
This idea – that Tottenham's cultural product could spur local regeneration in the absence of large employers – was one that the former Tottenham MP, Bernie Grant, advocated before his death in 2000.
It is said that there are no heroes in politics, but Bernie Grant – affectionately known as "brother Bernie" locally – still evokes the kind of love normally reserved for rock stars. His legend is now seen in the £7.8m Bernie Grant Art Centre, opened in Autumn 2007.
Sharon Grant, a former Haringey councillor and widow of Bernie, recalls that the founding goal for the centre was regeneration through arts and culture: "There were no major employers left in Tottenham, huge unemployment, but the product that we did and do have is a cultural talent – yet there was no opportunity for that talent to develop."
However, it is unclear to what extent local decision-makers have considered that cultural talent part of a plan for Tottenham's regeneration.
Tottenham is not a quiet and leafy residential suburb. Its true appeal is its illustrious story and diverse people. Recognising this selling point and taking a cue from how Brixton's investment in culture has been at the heart of its regeneration must be the foundation of any attempt to refashion Tottenham.
