Nathan Bedford Forrest Confederates Pillage Local Decision-Making
The following is “The state’s long arm stops Memphis again,” from my 9:01 column published in The Commercial Appeal on October 26, 2016, followed by a June 24, 2015,...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Dec 30, 2016 | City of Memphis Government, Livability, Parks and Greening
The following is “The state’s long arm stops Memphis again,” from my 9:01 column published in The Commercial Appeal on October 26, 2016, followed by a June 24, 2015,...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Dec 28, 2016 | Poverty, Transportation
In our last two posts, the first focused on public transit and the $7 billion, about 10% of the regional GDP, that largely flows out of our region as...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Dec 22, 2016 | City of Memphis Government, Transportation
In the ranking of public transit in 72 cities with populations of more than 250,000, Memphis ranks #55 and among the 32 cities with populations of more than...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Dec 20, 2016 | City of Memphis Government, Shelby County government, Transportation
In a region where incomes are too low, it’s self-destructive for the lack of effective regional public transit to contribute to the Memphis region...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Dec 15, 2016 | Civil Rights, Criminal Justice, Economic Development, Planning and Urban Design, Transportation
It’s the time of year when we pause to remember people and groups that we tend to take for granted. The University of Memphis is at the top of our list this year. Apparently, it’s...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Dec 12, 2016 | Economic Development, Shelby County government
The fix was in from the beginning. At least that’s the conclusion that could be easily drawn from the way that the Tennessee Valley Authority’s use of...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Dec 6, 2016 | City of Memphis Government, Parks and Greening
About 12 years ago when we began this blog, we lamented the fact that Memphis was not involved in national conversations or on the radar for philanthropic...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Dec 2, 2016 | Trends and Issues
MEMPHIS, TN — Etsy, a marketplace where people around the world connect, both online and offline, to make, sell and buy unique goods, today announced that...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Dec 1, 2016 | Taxation, Trends and Issues
It’s said that a picture is worth a thousand words. The one created by Google is worth $2 billion, which is the amount of debt that Shelby County Government issued...
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.