by Jonathan Flynt (RSS) Uncategorized | November 30th, 2010 12:29am CDT | 7 Comments
Since moving to Memphis I have heard much criticism concerning MATA and its service. As it appears a window is opening that would allow for a significant overhaul of the system with the hiring of Nelson\Nygaard Consulting for a $350,000 short-range transit plan, we need to look at the facts and the myths of the [...]
by SCM (RSS) Uncategorized | November 29th, 2010 12:09pm CDT | 1 Comment
Interim Superintendent Dan Ward was heading up Memphis City Schools when the amendment aimed at making Shelby County Schools a special district. His testimony to a committee of the Tennessee Legislature remains relevant: Good afternoon and thank you for allowing me this opportunity to speak to you on behalf of the Memphis City School System [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Uncategorized | November 29th, 2010 12:18am CDT | 31 Comments
School consolidation is an idea whose time has come. It’s likely that Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell is the only person standing between what’s been called “the nuclear option” by Memphis City Schools and good faith negotiations with Shelby County Schools about its special school district aspirations. We predict that he will prove Lincolnesque in [...]
by SCM (RSS) Uncategorized | November 28th, 2010 1:02pm CDT | 1 Comment
There’s nothing harder than trying to change the culture of a bureaucratic organization, as Mayor Wharton knows full well. Here’s the latest advice from New York City Deputy Mayor Stephen Goldsmith: Job routines are comfortable, especially in government. Going “by the book” produces certainty about how a job should be accomplished, provides guideposts for conduct [...]
by SCM (RSS) Uncategorized | November 26th, 2010 7:54pm CDT | Comments Off
He was born into a family of privilege, in a city where the dividing line between rich and poor is more pronounced than most. That would have been true whether John Stokes had chosen Vanderbilt or Auburn, whether he lost dozens of games or competed for national titles, whether he became one of the SEC’s [...]
by SCM (RSS) Uncategorized | November 25th, 2010 12:55pm CDT | 1 Comment
Memphis should be #2 in passing an open data law. There should be no data created in city government (and county government, for that matter) that is not the property of the public, and as a result, it should be shared with the public as a matter of policy and law. One year ago, San [...]
by SCM (RSS) Uncategorized | November 24th, 2010 12:49am CDT | Comments Off
The following column is by longtime urban commentator Neal Peirce: DETROIT — Could this moment — deep recession deficits notwithstanding — be a golden one of opportunity for America’s cities? Is it time to see them not as dragging anchors but rather as key national assets, the defining centers of our metro regions, essential for [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Uncategorized | November 23rd, 2010 5:28pm CDT | Comments Off
We’ve received a few emails asking us for a copy of the special school district report that has been mentioned in media coverage and our blog post. If you’d like to read it, click the following: Special School District report 2-29-08 If you prefer, here’s the executive summary that never made it past the draft [...]
by Steve Bares (RSS) Uncategorized | November 22nd, 2010 4:00pm CDT | 1 Comment
November 15-20 was observed in communities around the world as Global Entrepreneurship Week. Memphis had its share of events and news on the topic, which the local print media covered very nicely, thank you. This seems like an appropriate time to step back and look at the state of entrepreneurism in Memphis. We are a [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Uncategorized | November 22nd, 2010 12:46am CDT | 33 Comments
Shelby County Schools Board Chair David Pickler extending an overture to Memphis City Schools is the equivalent of Dr. Kevorkian volunteering to work in ICU. You know he’s going to do something, so you really don’t have anyone to blame but yourself if you fall for his unctuous pleas. After all, Mr. Pickler and the [...]
by Gene Pearson (RSS) Uncategorized | November 21st, 2010 6:50pm CDT | Comments Off
For the second year in a row we dodged a big bullet fired by our suburban friends in Shelby county. In the words of a famous Republican… “Well, there you go again”. The bullet is none other than the Special School District authorization for the Shelby County School System, which had been introduced last year [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Uncategorized | November 19th, 2010 12:26am CDT | 5 Comments
From the sublime to the ridiculous. Already, it’s become clear this will be the theme for the new look Shelby County Board of Commissioners. In time, they may even be able to make Tennessee Representative Curry Todd look intelligent. They are certainly off to a good start. It began this week with a vote that [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Economic Development | November 18th, 2010 12:42am CDT | 3 Comments
What do you do with a gritty city lagging in economic growth and with a legendary music heritage as its main claim to fame? No, not that one. We’re talking about Liverpool, England. If we were in charge of putting together a delegation to visit cities with important lessons for Memphis, that’s a place we’d [...]
by Gene Pearson (RSS) Uncategorized | November 17th, 2010 4:39pm CDT | 7 Comments
In light of our recent discussions, we’re reprising a post written by Gene Pearson: Many political leaders and grass roots organizations in Memphis today are advocating “smart growt,” “sustainable development,” and something called “new urbanism” as an answer to the ills of “urban sprawl,” which robs the core city of its vitality and extends costly [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Uncategorized | November 16th, 2010 12:19am CDT | 8 Comments
If Memphis was a real estate business, we would say that it suffers from a low occupancy rate. If we ran a shopping center with this problem, we could spend some money making it more attractive and offering special leases, we could lose money and suck it up, or we could raise rents, but if [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Uncategorized | November 15th, 2010 12:50am CDT | 3 Comments
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 Andrew Trippel (RSS) Uncategorized | November 14th, 2010 5:49pm CDT | Comments Off
Our friend, Andrew Trippel, University of Memphis professor and staff to the local Urban Land Institute (ULI) chapter, sent us another fascinating report from ULI. According to ULI: In the midst of economic uncertainty, there are still some elements of certainty – such as demographic shifts, financial industry restructuring, global competitiveness, and sustainable building – [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Neighborhoods | November 12th, 2010 12:48am CDT | 6 Comments
We wrote April 17, 2006, that if there was any justification for a Tax Increment Financing District, Broad Avenue is it. Truth be told, it was pretty much an exercise in faith at the time, but since then, a group of urban pioneers have taken root in the area and they are turning things around. [...]
by Anthony Siracusa (RSS) Uncategorized | November 12th, 2010 12:47am CDT | 1 Comment
You’ve probably seen the old water tower from East Parkway. Or maybe you’ve had a cocktail at The Cove after enjoying a slice at Broadway Pizza. But have you heard about the protected bike lanes, the on-street landscaping or the art-centric pedestrian walk? Broad Avenue, once known as home to the Beer Joint and a [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Uncategorized | November 11th, 2010 6:53pm CDT | 3 Comments
Nothing is quite as confusing as government financing, and that’s never been truer than now. There seems to be big numbers every where – the $110 million or so for The Pyramid and Pinch District retail project, there’s the idea of a new convention center likely to cost at least $500 million, there’s the tens [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Shelby County government, Taxation, Uncategorized | November 10th, 2010 10:49am CDT | 11 Comments
This is the second post about the issue of Memphis tax inequity. The first part was published in the previous post. Effectively addressing the serious issues facing Memphis is complicated by the absence of a coherent philosophy of public financing. Perhaps, it’s finally time for a fiscal equity study that becomes the blueprint for [...]
by Aaron Shafer (RSS) Uncategorized | November 10th, 2010 12:17am CDT | 1 Comment
A successful urban park should be a vibrant shared space full of people. Designing one is a rather simple task when the design space is surrounded by pre-existing activities, small businesses and adjacent neighborhoods-think of a vibrant town square park. What do you do when you want to bring people into a large unused space [...]
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
This ongoing series of photographs is intended to show the daily lives of these single mothers in order to invoke recognition of their similarities to all mothers, along with understanding and empathy from the viewer of the strengths that these single mothers possess within the challenging situations they face. My hope is that newfound empathy with these mothers’ lives will give people some pause before they condemn single mothers when discussing issues such as welfare and other politically charged hot buttons.
