Data Points: PILOTs and Shelby County Taxes
When discussion of PILOTs come up, attention regularly turns only to EDGE, but it’s worth remembering that there are nine other public agencies in Shelby County that can...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Sep 29, 2015 | Economic Development, Taxation
When discussion of PILOTs come up, attention regularly turns only to EDGE, but it’s worth remembering that there are nine other public agencies in Shelby County that can...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Sep 24, 2015 | City of Memphis Government, Criminal Justice, Trends and Issues
We’ve been re-reading one of our favorite histories of Memphis – Memphis During the Progressive Era 1900-1917 by William D. Miller (1957) – and we’re always struck...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Sep 22, 2015 | Economic Development, Poverty, Regionalism, Talent
Our media air waves and political squares are dominated by talk about all manner of challenging issues, but they are largely silent on the single issue that ultimately has...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Sep 18, 2015 | City of Memphis Government
City of Memphis is the Rodney Dangerfield of government. Speakers at Memphis City Council and commenters on The Commercial Appeal website rail about City Hall corruption although no one has been charged with a crime in decades....
Read MorePosted by SCM | Sep 16, 2015 | Transportation
CONNECTING PEOPLE & TRANSIT USING TECHNOLOGY Thursday, September 24, 2015 | 6:30 – 8:30 pm Lost Pizza Company, 2855 Poplar Avenue An informal evening with TransLoc transit appmakers, MATA, and the Mayor’s...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Sep 16, 2015 | Downtown Revitalization, Economic Development, Trends and Issues
As policymakers and regional leaders work to grow jobs and connect residents to economic opportunity following the Great Recession, where jobs locate matters....
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Sep 14, 2015 | Education
It’s hard to think of any public policy area that is more prone to magic answers than education, whether it is the focus today on community colleges or yesterday’s idea that the...
Read MorePosted by Jimmie Covington | Sep 10, 2015 | Education, Shelby County government
This post was submitted by Jimmie Covington, veteran Memphis reporter with lengthy experience covering governmental, school and demographic issues. He is now a contributing writer with The Best Times, a monthly news magazine for...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Sep 8, 2015 | Economic Development, Poverty
The purpose of a day-long conference last week was to pursue ways to reduce poverty, but in truth, it was most of all about developing a “superior growth model” for the Memphis...
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.