Sam Berns: 1996 – 2014 — The Secret to a Happy Life
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Read MorePosted by SCM | Jan 20, 2014 | Uncategorized
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Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jan 19, 2014 | Tennessee Legislature
In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. Surely, that is the feeling that Mark Norris has as leader of the Tennessee Legislature. He has a reputation as a clever and opportunistic politician, but the Senate Majority...
Read MoreFrom Governing: When President George W. Bush signed No Child Left Behind into law in early 2002, he described the sweeping education overhaul as a landmark piece of civil rights legislation. Closing the achievement gap between...
Read MoreFrom Governing: The future of Common Core is in doubt. In the reddest states—places like Alabama and Oklahoma—legislators are vowing to dismantle it entirely. In less staunchly conservative states (Indiana, Wisconsin),...
Read MorePosted by SCM | Jan 15, 2014 | Downtown Revitalization, Economic Development
From Pacific Standard – The Science of Society: Before the Great Recession, all cities hailed the financial district. Post-crisis, Bruce Katz and Brookings hail the innovation district as the driving logic of urban...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jan 15, 2014 | Education
During the Pre-K campaign, our friend and long-time Memphis blogger Steve Steffens (LeftWingCracker) often said that although Pre-K is important, in truth, interventions with our children should begin even earlier in their...
Read MorePosted by SCM | Jan 14, 2014 | Politics and Government, Poverty
From Atlantic Cities: The U.S. electorate isn’t entirely represented by the people in the U.S. who vote. Women are more likely to vote than men. Until the 2012 presidential election, whites were significantly more likely...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jan 14, 2014 | Downtown Revitalization
There’s been an interesting conversation taking place in connection with our post: The Tennessee Brewery Deserves a Creative Future. We’re bringing it here in hopes that you’ll join in. Carla...
Read MorePosted by SCM | Jan 13, 2014 | Arts and Culture, Livability
From Sustainable Cities Collective – By Christopher Berggren: Urban street art has a rich history in both the culture and economics of the cities it is created. The concept of street art includes not only unsanctioned...
Read MorePosted by SCM | Jan 10, 2014 | Uncategorized
From Governing: You’ve heard it a million times from elected officials, from people who want to be elected officials and from those who vote for elected officials: Government should be run like a business. This has become a...
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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 →
Smart City Memphis has been called the oldest, continuously operating in its original form, independent blog in the U.S. Its aim since 2005 has been to connect the dots and provide perspective on issues and policies shaping Memphis. 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 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.