by SCM (RSS) Downtown Revitalization | January 25th, 2012 2:00pm CST | No Comments
From Baltimore Sun: The vision for the “greening” of downtown Baltimore is taking shape after city leaders proposed ambitious steps to keep and attract businesses and residents by making public areas more inviting. An open-space plan unveiled last February by the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore calls for a network of spaces that link neighborhoods to [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Downtown Revitalization, Uncategorized | September 12th, 2011 12:21am CST | 3 Comments
Vibrancy: Pulsing or throbbing with energy or activity, such as the vibrancy in the streets of a big city. There’s little question that urbanists today are obsessed with vibrancy. With good reason. More and more, it is vibrancy that is the ultimate indicator that a neighborhood or a city is working. It is the ultimate [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Downtown Revitalization | August 25th, 2011 12:32am CST | 15 Comments
The Bass Pro deal for The Pyramid is disturbing. And our concern has nothing to do with the terms of the agreement. It’s about the dependable Greek chorus of people who complain anytime Memphis pursues anything that requires city government to act like a modern, big city government. They sometimes are the same people [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Downtown Revitalization, Planning and Urban Design | August 24th, 2011 12:34am CST | 6 Comments
We were writing again Friday about examples of urban indifference, and it sparked a conversation about the derelict Hickman Building, a prominent eyesore for the YMCA/downtown school neighborhood, and its “temporary” fence. First, here’s some information on the building: From Memphis Daily News, 2005: The Hickman Building is located at 240 Madison Ave. Built as [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Downtown Revitalization | April 1st, 2011 12:52am CST | Comments Off
More than a decade ago, we were talking with downtown’s premiere developer Henry Turley about our concerns about our community’s overreliance on tax freezes, and if downtown payment-in-lieu-of-taxes was different from those given to industrial prospects. As is Mr. Turley’s aptitude, he summed it up succinctly. Downtown PILOTs aren’t freezing taxes. Rather, they stop downtown [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Downtown Revitalization, Uncategorized | February 10th, 2011 12:51am CST | 45 Comments
The Center City Commission recently had its all-boards retreat and took inventory of its priorities and objectives. Paul Morris, new Commission president, suggested that it might be time for the city-county agency to change its name, and it’s an idea that deserves to be seriously pursued. Many downtown redevelopment agencies include terms like “authority,” “partnership,” [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Arts and Culture, Downtown Revitalization, Uncategorized | July 19th, 2010 12:52am CST | 5 Comments
It seems possible that a trend is starting in Memphis. Despite the oppressive heat, the weeks seem to bring more to make us feel upbeat than the old familiar sense of despair. And for the first time in almost a decade, the good news is coming from City Hall. Some questioned if Memphis Mayor A [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Downtown Revitalization | April 5th, 2010 12:49am CST | 18 Comments
Over the years, the biggest mistakes made by Memphis City Council are the ones made when its members aim low. And it appears that’s just what they are thinking about doing now by not finishing Beale Street Landing right. We appreciate the hard choices in front of City Council right now, but it’s worth remembering [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Downtown Revitalization | February 18th, 2010 12:50am CST | 6 Comments
At a time when cities were making investments to improve their downtowns, City of Memphis put our downtown up for adoption. More accurately, City Hall left downtown like a waif in a basket on the doorstep of the Center City Commission. There was no note and no money. There was only the directive for the [...]
by John Lawrence (RSS) Downtown Revitalization | December 22nd, 2009 6:45pm CST | 2 Comments
Sometimes we don’t need expensive consultants or years of study or the latest technology. Sometimes we may need to try to get more out of the resources we have. Sometimes all we need are good leaders to set some enthusiastic beginners off down a path. In the summer of 1994, Robert Lipscomb and Don Campbell [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Downtown Revitalization | November 9th, 2009 1:37am CST | 16 Comments
At a time when cities were making investments to improve their downtowns, City of Memphis put our downtown up for adoption. More accurately, City Hall left downtown like a waif in a basket on the doorstep of the Center City Commission. There was no note and no money. There was only the directive for the [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Downtown Revitalization | September 28th, 2009 4:24pm CST | 17 Comments
With the Mud Island Land Use Study – Phase Three Public Meetings wrapping up this week, there may be questions about the final recommendations, but there can be no questions any longer about the potential of a skate park on the Mississippi River isthmus. There have been a lot of suggested activities for Mud Island, [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Downtown Revitalization | February 13th, 2009 4:36pm CST | Comments Off
Is it possible to design a downtown that boosts the economy and helps people get around without their cars? Urban designers George Crandall and Don Arambula of the firm Crandall Arambula think so. They join us this week to talk about 21st century retail, re-concentrating a city’s downtown and why parking is still important, even [...]
by 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 →
Photograph by Amie Vanderford
Memphian Amie Vanderford is a photographer for peace and justice. Her portfolio includes photographs from Peru, Zimbabwe, Nepal, Indian, and her hometown.
