Memphis: All Things Are Possible
For about 15 years, Memphis forgot who it was. As a result, as the 20th century ended and as the first 10 years of the the 21st century began,...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | May 27, 2015 | Leadership, Trends and Issues
For about 15 years, Memphis forgot who it was. As a result, as the 20th century ended and as the first 10 years of the the 21st century began,...
Read MorePosted by SCM | May 25, 2015 | Uncategorized
TITLE: “What is the Sierra Club? What do we do? How to get involved.” CONTACTS: Dennis Lynch, dmlynch@alum.mit.edu, 901-213-6088 WHAT: Sierra Club Open Meeting- Presentation and fun activities to inform and engage...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | May 22, 2015 | City of Memphis Government, Livability, Parks and Greening
Standing at the center of Overton Park at the doughboy statue, it’s a perfect day in May. The smell of newly cut grass is in the air, a few dogs are running in the...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | May 18, 2015 | City of Memphis Government, Livability, Planning and Urban Design
Hopefully, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital will come through with another miracle. That seems to be what it would take in this community to fight...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | May 15, 2015 | City of Memphis Government, Planning and Urban Design
We’ve known some of the core structural issues facing Memphis for some time, but few steps have been taken to address them in...
Read MorePosted by SCM | May 13, 2015 | Planning and Urban Design, Transportation
As you know if you’ve read our past posts about the MPO, we consider its current structure unrepresentative because it is weighted to the suburbs and it is racially unbalanced. As a result, the organization has poorly...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | May 13, 2015 | Criminal Justice
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, in rare public comments by a justice to the U.S. Congress, sounded the alarm about the crisis in the American criminal justice system. It’s an alarm we should be hearing loudly here,...
Read MorePosted by Jimmie Covington | May 11, 2015 | Trends and Issues
By Jimmie Covington Memphis lost about 21,000 residents to outward movement to other counties in the United States during 2010-2014, according to recently released U.S. Census Bureau estimates. The estimates reflect a strong...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | May 11, 2015 | Poverty, Trends and Issues
Major Metrics for Memphis MSA Poverty Rate – Total Population 29.6% — African American 33.3% — Hispanic 8.7% — White Poverty Rate – Population under 18 41.6% — African American 44.9% — Hispanic...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | May 8, 2015 | City of Memphis Government, Downtown Revitalization, Economic Development, Livability, Politics and Government, Tennessee Legislature
If you don’t read the comments from readers to our blog posts, you might just be missing the best part. The following are some recent comments that seemed worthy of being posted here: Deciding What Memphis Should Be in Its...
Read Moreby 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 →
Since 2005, this has been Smart City Consulting’s blog with the aim of connecting the dots and providing perspective on issues and policies shaping Memphis. Editor and primary author is Tom Jones, columnist, author of two books, and consultant on public policy. Smart City Memphis was called one of the most intriguing blogs in the U.S. by the Pew Partnership for Civic Change; The (Memphis) Commercial Appeal wrote that “Smart City Memphis provides some of the most well-thought-out thinking about Memphis’ past, present, and future you’ll find anywhere,” and the Memphis Flyer said: “This incredibly well-written blog sets out to solves the city’s ills – from the mayor to MATA – with out-of-the-box thinking, fresh approaches to old problems, and new ideas. If you have questions, submissions, or ideas for posts, please email Tom Jones, at tjones@smartcityconsulting.com.