Finding Peace And Justice For Global Ministries Foundation’s Families
It’s easy to think in Memphis – with some of the lowest home prices in the nation – that we don’t have a housing problem. After all, among the 48 largest MSAs in the...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Mar 2, 2016 | Leadership, Poverty
It’s easy to think in Memphis – with some of the lowest home prices in the nation – that we don’t have a housing problem. After all, among the 48 largest MSAs in the...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Feb 29, 2016 | City of Memphis Government, Livability, Parks and Greening, Uncategorized
For as long as we can remember, the Memphis City Council has had the lowest approval rating in polling about local elected officials and governmental bodies. Those ratings have been aggravated in recent years by declining public...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Feb 26, 2016 | City of Memphis Government
The following post from February 26, 2006, is the latest flash back in our series of blog posts from 10 years ago. Since this post, Pittsburgh has been reborn and just as we should have...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Feb 24, 2016 | Leadership, Trends and Issues
There are times when it feels like there’s a nonprofit on every corner in Memphis. There’s a reason for that. The Memphis MSA, among the 50 largest metros, is #1 in the number...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Feb 22, 2016 | Economic Development, Leadership, Regionalism
For the legendary all-star recording session in 1985 that produced the chart-topping charity single, “We Are The World,” record-setting producer Quincy Jones posted a sign: “Check...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Feb 18, 2016 | City of Memphis Government, Parks and Greening
If you are looking to talk to the smartest person about city parks in the U.S., that person is Peter Harnik. He is director of The Trust for Public Land’s Center for...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Feb 15, 2016 | City of Memphis Government, Economic Development, Shelby County government
If rhetoric could be converted into cash, minority business in Memphis would be booming. For 25 years, talk has far outstripped action on arguably this community’s great economic development opportunity. The lack of...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Feb 12, 2016 | Downtown Revitalization, Economic Development, Talent, Uncategorized
On Monday, our post was about Archer>Malmo CEO Russ Williams’ idea to create a dense district of creative millennials in the downtown core. That post led to an interesting conversation that we are posting here today: Jada...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Feb 10, 2016 | Economic Development, Transportation
The recent approval of a 20-year waiver of property taxes by Collierville and 15 years by Shelby County for the FedEx World Technology Center is a case study of the disconnects...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Feb 8, 2016 | Downtown Revitalization, Economic Development, Livability, Talent
Russ Williams, CEO of Archer>Malmo, made a presentation to the Downtown Memphis Commission about 10 days ago that should be a call to arms about the forces that will define in large measure whether Memphis will be...
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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.