South London's Brixton Village Supports Community-Oriented Businesses

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An initiative in South London has been working to develop a cooperative community atmosphere by uniting small businesses and entrepreneurs with local citizens since October 2009. Utilizing twenty previously unoccupied stalls in the Brixton market, organizers at Space Makers Agency offer young creative-based businesses three months rent-free to simultaneously offer people imaginative new spaces and foster links to the community. Treehugger reports:

[Space Makers Agency] have been working with the local communities, property owners, local authorities, policy-makers and others to create new ways of "of thinking about the spaces in which we live, work and play. Our approach is to start with what is already there: the stories of a place and the people who live there. Then our role is as a catalyst, bringing out the possibilities which were already present in a situation and making connections which might not have been obvious.

Among the shops taking residence in Brixton include vintage clothing stores, a photographer, a childrens puppet show, and a candy store. With a growing number of empty storefronts in a growing number of U.S. cities, a similar investment in community and creative entrepreneurship certainly seems like it could be possible. What metropolis do you think would be a perfect candidate for a Brixton Village-like experiment?Photo by B. Alter via Treehugger