Archaic Rules and Insider Political Games Block New Business Opening
By Susan Adler Thorp In the many years I’ve observed and written about local business, government,...
Read Moreby Smart City Memphis | Jan 2, 2026 | City of Memphis Government, Economic Development, State Government | 2
By Susan Adler Thorp In the many years I’ve observed and written about local business, government,...
Read Moreby Smart City Memphis | Dec 29, 2025 | Arts and Culture | 0
My family went to see the movie Song Sung Blue last Friday to show our support for our hometown...
Read Moreby Smart City Memphis | Dec 23, 2025 | City of Memphis Government, Downtown Revitalization, Economic Development, Parks and Greening, Tourism | 0
After months of high-powered negotiations involving Memphis in May International Festival, Memphis...
Read Moreby Smart City Memphis | Dec 18, 2025 | Economic Development, Education, Talent | 0
This blog post was previously published as my City Journal column in January, 2025, Memphis...
Read Moreby Smart City Memphis | Dec 15, 2025 | City of Memphis Government, Shelby County government, Taxation | 0
The Shelby County Board of Commissioners is expected today to once again perfunctorily approve Tax...
Read Moreby Smart City Memphis | Dec 11, 2025 | Shelby County | 0
About three weeks ago, I posted some key metrics that showed Shelby County’s ranking in comparison...
Read Moreby Smart City Memphis | Dec 8, 2025 | Criminal Justice, Shelby County government, State Government | 0
Just when we think there’s nothing worse than Sheriff Floyd Bonner’s management of the Shelby...
Read Moreby Smart City Memphis | Dec 4, 2025 | Data Points, Federal Government, Shelby County | 0
Federal transfer payments – Social Security, Medicare, veterans benefits, and SNAP, for example...
Read Moreby Smart City Memphis | Dec 1, 2025 | Economic Development, Regionalism | 1
About every 10 years or so, Memphis discovers regionalism. That seems once again to be where we...
Read Moreby Smart City Memphis | Nov 25, 2025 | Civil Rights, Criminal Justice, Shelby County government | 0
It’s déjà vu all over again, but when it comes to the crisis in the Shelby County Jail, there’s no...
Read Moreby Smart City Memphis | Nov 20, 2025 | Data Points, Shelby County | 0
Tennessee has 95 counties and the Think Tennessee State of our Counties Dashboard has metrics that...
Read Moreby Smart City Memphis | Nov 17, 2025 | City of Memphis Government, Parks and Greening | 0
The following is my October 2025 City Journal column in Memphis magazine. You can subscribe to...
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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 →
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, City Journal columnist at Memphis magazine, author of two books and a museum exhibition, and consultant on public policy and strategic planning. He has written articles for MLK50, The Commercial Appeal, and USA Today. The blog was called one of the most intriguing blogs in the U.S. by the Pew Partnership for Civic Change; The (Memphis) Commercial Appeal said it “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 solve 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.