Place Matters Now More Than Ever
It’s hard to believe that there was a time 35 years ago that there were pundits and columnists who predicted that with the rise of technology, places would come to matter less and less....
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jun 29, 2017 | Uncategorized
It’s hard to believe that there was a time 35 years ago that there were pundits and columnists who predicted that with the rise of technology, places would come to matter less and less....
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jun 26, 2017 | Criminal Justice
Hopefully, Memphis Police Department’s partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice to fight crime in Memphis won’t be one of those federal programs we live to regret. Memphis...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jun 23, 2017 | Economic Development
In the National Urban League’s definitive report, State of Black America, it ranks the largest U.S. metros for its Equality Index. Metro Area Income...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jun 21, 2017 | City of Memphis Government, Poverty, Shelby County government
There is a lottery in Shelby County every day for an average of 37 people. The winners get a head start to more education, higher income, better...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jun 19, 2017 | Economic Development, Planning and Urban Design
Memphis and Liverpool continue their connections this summer with a “songwriters exchange” called From Memphis to the Mersey. Two people from each city will be selected to...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jun 16, 2017 | Civil Rights, Economic Development, Leadership
In a post last week, I wrote that although there is the widespread attitude that Memphis and Shelby County are the victims of forces beyond their control,...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jun 14, 2017 | City of Memphis Government, Planning and Urban Design
The following is the closing post in our two-parter about the work by nationally known urban planner Toni Griffin that led to the launch of the Memphis comprehensive...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jun 12, 2017 | City of Memphis Government, Planning and Urban Design, Trends and Issues
Four years ago, the groundwork for a comprehensive plan for Memphis was laid by nationally known urban planner Toni Griffin. It’s the back story of...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jun 9, 2017 | Economic Development
We’ve written recently that Memphis needs a disruption strategy to expand the economy and to create more jobs. It seems clear that doing the same and expecting different results is not...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jun 7, 2017 | Leadership, Trends and Issues
One of our oft-used aphorisms is “every system is perfectly designed to produce the results that it gets.” Memphis is just such a system, and that’s why it’s...
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.