by SCM (RSS) Economic Development | March 14th, 2012 11:03am CDT | Comments Off
America’s airline service is collapsing fast, and businesses across Heartland America are taking the brunt of the hit. A new article in the Washington Monthly by Phillip Longman and Lina Khan explains what’s happening and why the problem is rooted in the same kind of policies that brought on the financial crisis. As America’s few [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Economic Development, Education, Memphis City Schools, Poverty | March 14th, 2012 12:44am CDT | Comments Off
“We are a nation of idiots about infancy.” It was unquestionably a slap-in-the-face wake-up call, but there was no rebuttal to offer after recently listening to the convincing case laid out by Robin-Karr Morse, author of Scared Sick: The Role of Childhood Trauma in Adult Disease, family therapist, [...]
by Steve Bares (RSS) Economic Development | March 13th, 2012 12:26am CDT | Comments Off
One of the most important aspects of bioscience business development success for a community, and one of the often-repeated mantras of Memphis Bioworks, is the concept of building from your positions of strength. In Memphis, two undisputed and historical positions of strength have been the leadership we demonstrate in the field of medical devices and [...]
by SCM (RSS) Economic Development | March 1st, 2012 3:12pm CDT | 2 Comments
From a reader: Every few weeks comes another service announcement cut for Memphis from Delta. Filled with local officials saying its not that bad and Delta saying they are committed to the community. Add the inability of the local press to ask any hard questions and well…I fully expect to read the below any day [...]
by Steve Bares (RSS) Economic Development | February 27th, 2012 3:00pm CDT | Comments Off
I have to say, it is great to see cranes, cement trucks and construction on the UT-Baptist Research Park. The great recession that brought about the national quagmire in the banking and commercial real-estate sectors, made it very difficult for the construction industry in Memphis. Perhaps a symbol of a return to normalcy, a lot [...]
by SCM (RSS) Economic Development | February 24th, 2012 1:54pm CDT | 2 Comments
From JonathanFields.com: I was recently giving a keynote before a room full of entrepreneurs and from the audience a voice yelled, “why are you telling this to us? We’re not the people who need to hear this. This is a waste of time.” Pin drop… Beyond the fact that a good percentage of the eyeballs [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Economic Development, Education, Trends and Issues, Uncategorized | February 23rd, 2012 12:17am CDT | 5 Comments
We’ve shown up in several places lately, and we appreciate the attention. Featured in PolitiFact First, The Commercial Appeal’s outstanding PolitiFact’s Truth-o-Meter ruled that Commissioners Wyatt Bunker and Chris Thomas were not telling the whole truth when they said that Memphis City Schools always got county schools free [...]
by SCM (RSS) Economic Development | February 6th, 2012 2:00pm CDT | Comments Off
From Atlantic Cities: Sunni terrorist detonates a bomb at a crowded Shiite shrine in Iraq. Political anti-Semitism is on the rise in the Russian Federation, even though most of its Jews have long-since emigrated. Millions of Central Africans have died because of the long-standing enmity between the Tutsi and Hutu peoples. Prejudice is present in [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Economic Development | January 23rd, 2012 12:41am CDT | 3 Comments
There was little time for a celebration following the Greater Memphis Chamber’s announcement about $1.2 billion in private investment and 14,000 new jobs. The day after the Chamber announcement, Brookings Institution ranked us as one of the worst-performing metropolitan economies in the world — #171 of the [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Economic Development | January 5th, 2012 1:48am CDT | 3 Comments
The problem with negotiations is that hindsight is always 20-20 when the smoke clears a few months later. The truth of the matter is that City of Memphis, Shelby County, and State of Tennessee could have insisted on putting more conditions into the contract with Electrolux. It is equally true [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Economic Development | December 29th, 2011 12:55am CDT | 1 Comment
The guest post today is by Steve Bares in observance of the 10 year anniversary of Memphis Bioworks. Dr. Bares is one of Memphis’ really smart thinkers, and Bioworks has been smart thinking from its inception. It leverages existing strengths, it’s the rare economic development project here that isn’t built on cheapness but quality, and [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Economic Development | December 19th, 2011 12:10am CDT | 10 Comments
Aerotropolis needs more lift if it is to really take off. We have had our questions about it, but it’s hard to have any questions about the facts: Memphis International Airport is our largest economic engine, FedEx is our largest employer, and logistics-related companies are the industry sector that sets us apart when compared to [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Economic Development | December 7th, 2011 12:56am CDT | 1 Comment
There are times when we hypnotize ourselves with our own hyperbole. There are many positive developments under way in Memphis, but our city has no margin for error. As a result, elected officials like Memphis Mayor A C Wharton are engaged in a constant balancing act. On one hand, [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Economic Development, Transportation | December 5th, 2011 12:26am CDT | 39 Comments
Map of Long Range Transportation Plan Projects It’s easier to think of reasons why the University of Memphis should have kept football coach Larry Porter than reasons we should keep the Memphis MPO. The MPO (Memphis Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization) has a record of failure when it comes to rational, well-reasoned transportation planning and [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Economic Development | December 2nd, 2011 12:30am CDT | 2 Comments
The national search for the first head of EDGE seems to be coming to a close, and it sounds like we will once again make the safe choice. While we have a bias for finding the best people in their fields and then doing whatever it takes to get [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Economic Development, Uncategorized | November 18th, 2011 12:42am CDT | 13 Comments
We thought of Cosmo Castorini in Moonstruck as City Council talked about the proposal to build a publicly-funded garage in Overton Square: “It costs money because it saves money.” City government may appear to be saving money if it turns down the $6 million garage, but in the long-run, the decision will cost much more [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Economic Development | November 16th, 2011 12:07am CDT | 5 Comments
The timing is right for Memphis and Shelby County to determine what tools it needs in its toolkit if we are to compete in economic development. Then again, we should more often use some tools that we already have — Tax Increment Financing, Business Improvement Districts, and other state-authorized incentives created to attract investment and [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Economic Development, Neighborhoods, Regionalism | September 23rd, 2011 12:05am CDT | Comments Off
About 50% of the metro population lives in Memphis, dwarfed only by San Antonio’s 62%. The population density of Los Angeles, is four times more than Memphis – 8,092 people per square mile compared to 2,053. The density of the L.A. MSA is 10 times greater than the Memphis MSA. The cost of transportation and [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Economic Development | September 21st, 2011 12:26am CDT | 3 Comments
So, how many jobs have been created during Memphis Mayor A C Wharton’s two years in office? His television ad says 10,000. Channel 3 TV’s “truth test” says 7,320. The number of jobs created in the past year exceeds 15,000 jobs at least. In this regard, the Wharton campaign is modest in its claims. The [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Economic Development | August 9th, 2011 12:05am CDT | 55 Comments
African-Americans in Memphis are under siege. That can only mean one thing: Memphis is also under siege. Come to think of it, it also means that the region is under siege, despite the tone and content of suburban rhetoric to the contrary. We’ve been writing in recent weeks about the economic realities that face Memphis [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Economic Development | August 3rd, 2011 12:05am CDT | 11 Comments
We wrote last week about our hope that the newly-created EDGE organization will bring some new thinking to Memphis and Shelby County’s over-reliance on tax giveaways as the only arrow in our quiver, but we also hope they will consider some new concepts that ensure that the community does receive benefits if tax freezes are [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Economic Development | July 28th, 2011 12:05am CDT | 6 Comments
No one can say that there’s never any good news in the newspaper. Last week, the Memphis and Shelby County Industrial Development Board met for the last time. For years, the IDB has handed out tax waivers to anyone who could fill out the paperwork. The heaps of praise of the lawyer who has gouged [...]
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.
