Data Points: Memphis Metro’s GDP Lags
A few years ago, Zach Hoyt, local attorney, wrote a blog post here that expressed his concern about the slow growth of the Memphis MSA GDP (Gross Domestic Product), pointing out that...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Dec 28, 2017 | Uncategorized
A few years ago, Zach Hoyt, local attorney, wrote a blog post here that expressed his concern about the slow growth of the Memphis MSA GDP (Gross Domestic Product), pointing out that...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Dec 22, 2017 | City of Memphis Government, Parks and Greening, Politics and Government, Uncategorized
It was June, 2005, when we started this blog, and one of our first posts was about the visual blight and racist history of Confederate statues in Memphis parks. Over the years, in dozens of posts, we called attention to...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Dec 20, 2017 | Economic Development, Regionalism, Transportation
“Sprawl is a rot that tends to consume the old city. We can hope that Memphis is just 20 years behind other cities, as people across the country...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Dec 18, 2017 | Economic Development, Shelby County government, Transportation
Looking back, there’s no real argument that suburban sprawl was not a direct hit on the city at its center, draining Memphis of its people and its...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Dec 14, 2017 | Downtown Revitalization, Planning and Urban Design
At a time when downtown’s future hinges on it being more livable, walkable, and bikable, we too often default to our car-centric view of public space....
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Dec 12, 2017 | Economic Development, Uncategorized
There are times when the truth hurts but the longer we obscure it, the longer it is before we get serious about finding solutions. That’s especially true when it comes to...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Dec 8, 2017 | Economic Development, Uncategorized
The average jobs growth for regions the size of the Memphis between 2007-2017 was 9.1%. Jobs growth for the Memphis region was 0.4% with jobs increasing from 642,500 to...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Dec 6, 2017 | Economic Development, Poverty
Continuing the theme from the last post, we cannot solve our region’s child poverty rate – the highest of any MSA in the country – unless we are address the...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Dec 4, 2017 | Poverty
It’s never possible to argue with African Americans that if white children were facing the same disturbing facts of life that confront too many African American kids, the entire community would...
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.