The settlement was built on former swamp land adjacent to Brooklands Lagoon, which forms part of the Waimakariri River mouth.

The land damage sustained in the 2010 and 2011 Christchurch earthquakes and subsequent Red Zone classification resulted in the buyout and demolition of nearly all properties in Brooklands, effectively wiping the suburb off the map.

In the 1960s, Brooklands was a "ramshackle settlement of fibrolite houses", and well-built dwellings were "almost a talking point".

Some of the properties now condemned were built in 2011, and at least one house got its building consent from Christchurch City Council only after the February 2011 earthquake.

[7] As of 2015, the majority of properties in Brooklands have been demolished, leaving only 25 residents who refused the government land-buyout offers remaining in the area.