Getting Neighborhoods To The Front Of The Line
It’s a mantra heard for years by Memphis neighborhoods: We’d love to help but we don’t have any money and times are tough. And yet,...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Apr 15, 2016 | Neighborhoods
It’s a mantra heard for years by Memphis neighborhoods: We’d love to help but we don’t have any money and times are tough. And yet,...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Apr 14, 2016 | Economic Development, Leadership, Livability, Planning and Urban Design, Regionalism
This is the latest edition of our feature that takes a look back at blog posts 10 years ago, so this month we’re flashing back to April, 2006. The topics that month includes posts about the study funded by Memphis and Shelby...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Apr 12, 2016 | Economic Development, Livability, Talent
Note: There are renewed conversations about the ways to spark more economic growth in Memphis, but often they turn into...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Apr 8, 2016 | City of Memphis Government, Parks and Greening
Now, that wasn’t really so hard, was it? Now that the Overton Park Conservancy has done the work that more appropriately should already have been done by City...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Apr 6, 2016 | City of Memphis Government, Taxation
Ten days ago, in the wake of the Tennessee Legislature’s decision to send the deannexation bill back for more study, we blogged that City of Memphis should begin a process to...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Apr 4, 2016 | City of Memphis Government, Economic Development, Shelby County government
The 21st century dawned with such hope, and chief among the reasons for optimism was the emergence of a group of young African Americans determined to improve the community and its political opportunities for their...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Mar 31, 2016 | Economic Development
From the April edition of Memphis magazine: When Donald Trump Took Down Holiday Inns by Tom Jones Almost 30 years before Donald Trump became a force in the 2016 Presidential campaign, 2,500 Memphians lost their jobs because of...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Mar 28, 2016 | City of Memphis Government, Shelby County government, Taxation, Tennessee Legislature
Sometimes, the best revenge is to give people what they’re asking for. It’s tempting to do that with the deannexation advocates who so passionately want to get out of Memphis. ...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Mar 25, 2016 | Education, Shelby County government
There should have been no surprise that Shelby County Schools needs $476 million for deferred maintenance and improvements for its 182 schools. First, it should not be surprising...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Mar 23, 2016 | City of Memphis Government
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.