10-Year Flashback: Measuring Memphis Against Itself
The following is a post from July 16, 2006, about how to measure success in Memphis. This is the latest in our regular feature flashing back to blog posts from 10 years...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jul 29, 2016 | Downtown Revitalization, Livability
The following is a post from July 16, 2006, about how to measure success in Memphis. This is the latest in our regular feature flashing back to blog posts from 10 years...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jul 27, 2016 | Leadership, Politics and Government
About the time that I entered high school, I met a Republican. Growing up in Collierville in the era of the solidly Democratic South, it created quite a stir when word...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jul 25, 2016 | City of Memphis Government, Livability, Parks and Greening
The lingering controversy about Memphis Zoo parking on the greensward seems finally to have run its course. Barring a last minute glitch in fine tuning a few...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jul 22, 2016 | City of Memphis Government
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 | Jul 20, 2016 | Downtown Revitalization
Maybe, with a little luck, the Downtown Memphis Commission – through its affiliate organization, the Center City Revenue Finance Corporation – is ushering in...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jul 18, 2016 | Livability, Trends and Issues
By TOM JONES Memphis has been surprising people for more than a century, and it happened again in the wake of the Great Recession. With Memphis hit harder...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jul 14, 2016 | Neighborhoods, Poverty
In Memphis, geography is too often destiny. Where a person is born largely sets the choices and opportunities for one in four Memphians. There is a...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jul 13, 2016 | Civil Rights
The following is the condensed sermon from last Sunday by Rev. Dr. Stephen Montgomery of Idlewild Presbyterian Church. As usual, he puts the events of recent days into a faith-based context that inspires and enlightens: One day...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jul 12, 2016 | Uncategorized
Originally posted November 9, 2015: For as long as we can remember, our community has been having a conversation about the need to have the conversation about race. And yet, we always seem to find reasons to put it off. But...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jul 8, 2016 | Civil Rights, Criminal Justice, Poverty
And the cycle begins anew. Or, maybe, in truth, it never stopped. The toxic stew of guns, racism, injustice, and anger continues to poison America, and we appear to lack...
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.