Editing Brixton (section)

==Transition town and local currency==
Brixton was one of the first inner-city based '[[Transition town]]' projects in the UK.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.transitiontowns.org/ |title=Transition Towns wiki |website=Transitiontowns.org |access-date=11 May 2008 |archive-date=11 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511155800/http://transitiontowns.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Brockwell Park]] hosts the now annual Urban Green Fair, first held in summer 2007.<ref>[http://www.urbangreenfair.org/docs/about.html Urbangreenfair.org] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725090852/http://www.urbangreenfair.org/docs/about.html |date=25 July 2011 }}</ref>

===Brixton pound===
{{infobox currency
| qid = Q114529964
| currency_name=Brixton pound
| image_1 =
| image_alt_1=The reverse of the Brixton pound B£10 note, showing design details from Brixton's famous Nuclear Dawn mural and a design motif inspired by Southwyck House
| image_title_1=Reverse of the B£10 note
| symbol = B£
}}
The Brixton pound was first trialled at Transition Town Brixton's "Local Economy Day" on 19 June 2008. It was then launched on 17 September 2009 by Transition Town Brixton.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.site.transitiontownbrixton.org/ |title=The Brixton Pound |website=Site.transitiontownbrixton.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100529062554/http://www.site.transitiontownbrixton.org/ |archive-date=29 May 2010}}</ref> The Brixton pound is a [[local currency]] that is available as an alternative to [[pound sterling|sterling]].<ref>{{cite web |author=Hubberts Peak says |url=http://thegreenvillage.co.uk/news/brixton-pound-moves-town-closer-to-transition-town-status-960/ |title=Brixton Pound Moves Town Closer To 'Transition Town' Status |work=The Green Village |date=16 September 2009 |access-date=26 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130702130141/http://thegreenvillage.co.uk/news/brixton-pound-moves-town-closer-to-transition-town-status-960/ |archive-date=2 July 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The first trading day of the Brixton pound was on 18 September 2009 with 80 local businesses accepting the currency.<ref name="The Times">{{cite news |first=Laura |last=Whateley |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/money/article6842038.ece |title=Brixton has run on the pound as shoppers clamour for local currency |work=The Times |date=13 March 2012 |location=London |access-date=26 September 2009 |archive-date=18 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110918054212/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/money/article6842038.ece |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The Brixton pound aims to boost the local economy and build a mutual support system amongst independent businesses by tying local shoppers to local shops and by encouraging local shops to source goods and services locally.<ref name="The Times"/> The notes are available in B£1, B£5, B£10, and B£20 denominations and depict local celebrities such as the community activist [[Olive Morris]] and the environmentalist [[James Lovelock]]. [[Lambeth London Borough Council|Lambeth Council]] has endorsed the project,<ref name="The Times"/> which the [[New Economics Foundation]] helped to develop.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://money.aol.co.uk/brixton-pound-ready-for-launch/article/2009091619230779074080 |title=Brixton Pound ready for launch |publisher=AOL |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306004846/http://money.aol.co.uk/brixton-pound-ready-for-launch/article/2009091619230779074080/ |archive-date=6 March 2016}}</ref>

On 29 September 2011, the Brixton pound launched an electronic version of the currency where users can pay by text message. A second issue of the paper currency was launched, featuring a new set of well-known people with Brixton connections: On the B£1, the [[Black Cultural Archives]] founder [[Len Garrison]], on the B£5, NBA basketball player [[Luol Deng]] (the reverse was inspired by the [[Ark Evelyn Grace Academy]]), [[David Bowie]] on the B£10 and [[World War II]] secret agent [[Violette Szabo]] on the B£20.<ref name="showme">{{cite web |title=Show Me the Money |url=http://brixtonpound.org/showmemoney |website=Brixton Pound |access-date=9 February 2018 |archive-date=15 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200615070824/http://brixtonpound.org/showmemoney |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The reverse of the notes, designed by a Brixton creative agency This Ain't Rock'n'Roll, feature notable local landmarks such as the [[Stockwell Skatepark]], public art on [[Electric Avenue]], Nuclear Dawn (one of the [[Brixton murals]]), and the [[Stirling Prize]]-winning [[Ark Evelyn Grace Academy]]. All four notes feature a design motif inspired by [[Coldharbour Lane]]'s [[Southwyck House]] (or "Barrier Block").

In 2015, to celebrate the Brixton pound's fifth anniversary, the [[Turner Prize]]-winning artist [[Jeremy Deller]] was commissioned to design a limited-edition B£5 note.<ref name="henri">{{cite news |last1=Neuendorf |first1=Henri |title=2004 Turner Prize Winner Jeremy Deller Designs Psychedelic Brixton Banknote |url=https://news.artnet.com/art-world/jeremy-deller-brixton-pound-324685 |access-date=9 February 2018 |work=artnet |date=13 August 2015 |archive-date=9 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180209183700/https://news.artnet.com/art-world/jeremy-deller-brixton-pound-324685 |url-status=live }}</ref> It was described as "psychedelic and political", with the front featuring bright colors and the back with a quotation from [[Karl Marx]]’s ''[[Das Kapital]]'' ("Capital is money, capital is commodities...By virtue of it being value, it has acquired the occult ability to add value to itself. It brings forth living offspring, or, at the least, lays golden eggs.")<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sinclair |first1=Mark |title=Jeremy Deller designs new banknote for the Brixton Pound |url=https://www.creativereview.co.uk/jeremy-deller-designs-new-banknote-for-the-brixton-pound/ |access-date=9 February 2018 |work=Creative Review |date=31 July 2015 |archive-date=20 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170420233222/https://www.creativereview.co.uk/jeremy-deller-designs-new-banknote-for-the-brixton-pound/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[List of community currencies in the United Kingdom|Other towns and cities in the UK that have used their own currency]] include the city of [[Bristol]], [[Totnes]] in Devon, [[Stroud]] in Gloucestershire and [[Lewes]] in Sussex.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hargrave |first=Sean |date=2022 |title=From Brixton to Totnes, the UK’s dream of local currencies is over |url=https://www.wired.com/story/local-currencies-dead/ |access-date=Feb 19, 2025 |work=Wired UK}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Sloman |first=John |date=September 2015 |title=Small is beautiful – a story of local currencies (update) |url=https://pearsonblog.campaignserver.co.uk/small-is-beautiful-a-story-of-local-currencies-update/ |access-date=February 19, 2025 |website=The Sloman Economics News Site}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=January 15, 2024 |title=The Intriguing Tale of the Totnes Pound: An Exploration of a Unique Local Currency |url=https://www.tannerbates.co.uk/blogs/news/the-intriguing-tale-of-the-totnes-pound-an-exploration-of-a-unique-local-currency?srsltid=AfmBOooJCDROX45FRX1Ka94TIWxny6V39YOYafOfhEoo8SxoFzpsxxrR |access-date=Feb 19, 2025 |website=Tannerbates}}</ref>