Economic Prosperity Hinges On Reducing Poverty
In recent years, we seem to have had a record number of really smart people making speeches and presentations and speaking to clusters of involved, dedicated...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Sep 12, 2016 | Economic Development, Neighborhoods, Poverty
In recent years, we seem to have had a record number of really smart people making speeches and presentations and speaking to clusters of involved, dedicated...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Sep 9, 2016 | Civil Rights, Politics and Government, Poverty, Uncategorized
The following article was written by a favorite Memphis economist of ours, David Ciscel, former Chair of the Economics Department,...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Sep 7, 2016 | Economic Development
The following is a post from September 20, 2006, about how to measure success in Memphis. This is the latest in our regular feature flashing back to blog posts from 10 years ago. Who knew we’d still be looking for an...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Sep 2, 2016 | Trends and Issues
It’s hard to imagine that other cities get as worked up as Memphis does when it ends up on one of the endless stream of cities’ lists that include words like...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Aug 31, 2016 | City of Memphis Government, Shelby County government
Some years ago, before the current city and county mayors were in office, the separation of powers within local government blurred and it’s been difficult to put the genie back in the bottle...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Aug 29, 2016 | Parks and Greening, Planning and Urban Design, Shelby County government
It was a night in early February in 2007 when our community’s pent-up energy behind a “green agenda” burst into the open. Inspired by the impact that was foreseen for...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Aug 26, 2016 | Economic Development, Poverty
Large Metros Where the Poor Are Most Segregated: 1. Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis MSA 2. Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford MSA 3. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington MSA 4. Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor MSA 5....
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Aug 24, 2016 | City of Memphis Government, Criminal Justice, Economic Development
Memphis moved a step closer to marijuana enforcement sanity with the vote by Memphis City Council for an ordinance that would mean that Memphis Police Department would not arrest people...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Aug 23, 2016 | Economic Development, Livability, Planning and Urban Design, Taxation
The following is a proposal we received from a concerned Memphian: Payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) is a program which reduces or eliminates property taxes for a period of time as...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Aug 22, 2016 | Economic Development, Poverty, Transportation
(University of Michigan chart.) In the wake of recent events in Milwaukee, income and economic segregation there have garnered national headlines. This is a deep...
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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.