The Racism Test
It’s a strange phenomenon of our times. There are white people posting comments seething with bigotry who quickly reject any suggestion that they are racist. They are...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Sep 25, 2017 | Civil Rights, Uncategorized
It’s a strange phenomenon of our times. There are white people posting comments seething with bigotry who quickly reject any suggestion that they are racist. They are...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Sep 22, 2017 | City of Memphis Government, Criminal Justice
The Brennan Center for Justice has released projections for the number of murders in the largest cities in the U.S. The Center at New York University School of Law is a nonpartisan law...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Sep 20, 2017 | Shelby County government
We live in strange times. Shelby County Board of Commissioners Chairwoman Heidi Shafer says her government may sue City of Memphis for its new policy that...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Sep 18, 2017 | Arts and Culture, City of Memphis Government, Downtown Revitalization
Walker Percy said that the problem with culture is that we must wrest meaning from experiences that come to us prepackaged and...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Sep 15, 2017 | City of Memphis Government, Civil Rights, Downtown Revitalization
Two years ago, when most attention was focused on the Nathan Bedford Forrest statue in a prominent...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Sep 13, 2017 | Downtown Revitalization, Economic Development
Years ago, after listening to the latest idea for revitalizing downtown, former Beale Street developer John Elkington facetiously said Memphis is always chasing the latest...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Sep 11, 2017 | City of Memphis Government, Economic Development, Livability, Planning and Urban Design
We can identify with Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland and the Greater Memphis Chamber when it comes to Amazon’s $5 billion competition. It’s the same way we felt...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Sep 7, 2017 | City of Memphis Government, Livability, Shelby County government, Taxation
Graceland officials say that their new proposed 6,000-seat arena will not pull events and concerts away from FedExForum, but that only hints at the biggest question...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Sep 4, 2017 | City of Memphis Government, Planning and Urban Design, Shelby County government
If only Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland had been in office 35 years ago. Perhaps, he would not have signed the agreement that supercharged the sprawl that took...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Sep 1, 2017 | Civil Rights
I remember sitting as a child in Southern Baptist churches while the preacher said the Bible validated segregation and discrimination of African-Americans and how...
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, 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.