by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Uncategorized | June 29th, 2009 10:07pm CST | Comments Off
To continue the theme that we began yesterday on what it will take for Memphis to recruit the kind of candidate that can become a great mayor, here’s the abbreviated advice from one of our favorites, Denver’s John Hickenlooper: LESSONS FROM A BREWPUB:The John Hickenlooper Guide To Civic SuccessWe started our Profiles in Leadership: America’s [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Uncategorized | June 28th, 2009 2:35pm CST | Comments Off
It seems a good time to reprise a slightly edited post from July 5, 2006, which was also the June, 2006, City Journal column in Memphis magazine: This is the golden age of great city mayors. In Chicago, Richard Daley transformed “Beirut on the Lake” into one of the world’s great cities – sophisticated, vibrant, [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Uncategorized | June 28th, 2009 2:22pm CST | Comments Off
Kerry Hayes, always a wise observer of the Memphis scene, wrote some sound advice on his Facebook page about the post-Herenton era: Remember: Mayor Herenton’s departure is an opportunity, not a solution. Remember: the leadership that comes next is vastly more important than the leader who’s leaving. Remember: the Mayor should not blamed for every [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Uncategorized | June 27th, 2009 12:16pm CST | Comments Off
There’re many reasons that we respect Cindy and Kevin Brewer. They are the kind of talented people that we need in this city – young, entreprenuerial, positive. In their work and in their civic activities, they are committed to creating a better city that builds on its unique authenticity. They are spreading the word about [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Uncategorized | June 26th, 2009 6:38pm CST | Comments Off
Memphis made a top 25 list, but unfortunately, it wasn’t one we wanted to be on. We had two neighborhoods in the 25 most dangerous neighborhoods in the U.S. – #11 (Bellevue Boulevard/Lamar Avenue) and # 7 (Warford St/Mount Olive Road. The rankings were compiled by WalletPop based on the exclusive neighborhood crime information from [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Uncategorized | June 25th, 2009 10:27pm CST | Comments Off
It seems that a lot of people won’t believe Memphis Mayor Willie W. Herenton is really leaving City Hall until he turns in his keys July 10. Such is the mystique of unpredictability that surrounds him. Although reports of a resignation have circulated and sounded firm for weeks, there were still people at the City [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Memphis City Schools | June 24th, 2009 11:38pm CST | Comments Off
It was a match made in heaven. The worst Tennessee Legislature in memory advised on charter schools law by the specious superintendent of Shelby County Schools, Bobby Webb. Fortunately, in the midst of its gun fetish exhibitionism, the Legislature found time to reverse course on a proposed amendment to Tennessee’s restrictive charter schools laws. In [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Uncategorized | June 24th, 2009 2:31am CST | Comments Off
Anybody who can take on Wal-Mart and win is special in our books, but Brian Stephens isn’t through yet. As a new member of the Shelby County Election Commission, he’s about to do something way too rare in local government. He’s about to make public records public. If we had a dollar for every time [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Uncategorized | June 22nd, 2009 1:04pm CST | Comments Off
We wrote today about someone we really admire, Charlie Santo, and someone who has an equal amount of our respect, Jeffrey Higgs, executive director of Lemoyne-Owen Community Development Corporation (CDC) replied with conviction, so we’re posting it here. Finally, we can’t think of a neighborhood that is more poised for this kind of revitalization. No [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Uncategorized | June 21st, 2009 8:08pm CST | Comments Off
The Memphis Music Magnet – a project spearheaded by the always creative Professor Charles Santo – is based on the premise that musicians can make equally beautiful music in revitalizing the Soulsville neighborhood. More to the point, it’s about building a culture of creativity that in the end can be more important in attracting young, [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Uncategorized | June 20th, 2009 11:15pm CST | Comments Off
This week, Smart City will talk about mobility – bikes and career.B-cycle is the latest bike sharing project to hit the U.S. Behind the project is Alex Bogusky, a principal with the creative firm Crispin Porter + Bogusky. We’ll find out how B-Cycle works and why easy access to a bike causes big drops in [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Uncategorized | June 19th, 2009 11:35am CST | Comments Off
Grist magazine has a timely article in light of our recent post about the need for a 21st century public transit system in Memphis. The article – The best U.S. transit systems you never knew existed – spotlights cities where we’d never expect to find first-class public transit. Must reading.
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Uncategorized | June 18th, 2009 11:16pm CST | Comments Off
The first reaction to the Memphis City Council’s vote in favor of a three per cent pay raise for its employees is disbelief. On the surface, it appears that a majority of the Council is more concerned about employees than taxpayers. Below the surface, it was yet another reminder of the special importance that government [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Uncategorized | June 16th, 2009 10:47pm CST | Comments Off
We can cure you but we may have to kill you first. That was a common reaction to an article in London’s Daily Telegraph that reported that the Obama Administration is considering plans for selective bulldozing in some “rust belt” cities including Detroit, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Memphis. We suspect that the story may be [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Uncategorized | June 15th, 2009 9:51pm CST | Comments Off
The burgeoning green ethos that’s bubbling up from grassroots Memphis is gaining ground, and it can’t come too soon. The downturn in gas prices may have lulled our city into a false sense of security, but we’re confident that the various forces for change – the evolution of cycling from a group of enthusiasts into [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Uncategorized | June 14th, 2009 9:48pm CST | Comments Off
As Memphis City Council gets ready for its budget wrap-up this week, we have only one request: no more Fred Smith analogies. Because of our broken tax structure, there are no easy answers for the Council, only a menu of poor options. That said, the tendency to justify pay cuts (which are crudely symbolic) and [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Uncategorized | June 14th, 2009 9:32pm CST | Comments Off
Reports about an imminent resignation by Memphis Mayor Willie W. Herenton are rumbling again, and this time around, they seem to have more credence than before. But with Mayor Herenton, we’ve learned to believe it when we see it, but if he steps aside, it will have far-reaching ramifications – for not just who follows [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Uncategorized | June 13th, 2009 10:57pm CST | Comments Off
This week on Smart City, we have two authors who are re-imagining some persistent but outdated ideas from the 20th century. Alex Steffan is a journalist and author who runs the organization and website WorldChanging.com. The site practices what he calls “Solutions based journalism” on the environment and has become the go-to source for forward [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Uncategorized | June 11th, 2009 10:23pm CST | Comments Off
Our good friend and colleague Joe Cortright was quoted today in the New York Times in its coverage of cities’ racing to bet on biotech. First, it made us proud that Joe was quoted, and second, it made us proud that Memphis Bioworks Foundation took a different, more precise approach built on our city’s authentic [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Uncategorized | June 10th, 2009 11:02pm CST | Comments Off
It looks like Memphis Area Transit Authority has finally reached a long awaited point: put up or shut up. For years, MATA has offered up numerous justifications for the sad state of public transit in Memphis. At a time when efficient, effective mass transit is a competitive advantage for cities attracting talented workers, ours does [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Uncategorized | June 9th, 2009 8:45pm CST | Comments Off
Perhaps what local government needs most is a Department of Connecting the Dots. While one public agency talks about creating a workforce that can compete in the knowledge economy, another gives tax freezes to companies that perpetuate low-wage, low-skill jobs. While one government launches a “sustainability agenda,” no government seems able to rein in sprawl-inducing [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Uncategorized | June 8th, 2009 9:35pm CST | Comments Off
This week on Smart city we’re heading outside to explore the greenways and bike lanes of cities. Greg Moore is the executive director of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy. He’ll tell how us the former military outpost became one of the largest greenways in the U.S., and how he brought together a group of [...]
by Bill Day. Memphian Bill Day is two-time winner of the RFK Journalism Award in Cartooning. His cartoons are syndicated internationally by Cagle Cartoons. Cartoons Archive →
Photograph by Amie Vanderford
Memphian Amie Vanderford is a photographer for peace and justice. Her portfolio includes photographs from Peru, Zimbabwe, Nepal, Indian, and her hometown.
