Finding The Magic Of The Right Education Policies
It’s hard to think of any public policy area that is more prone to magic answers than education, whether it is the focus today on community colleges or yesterday’s idea that the...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Sep 14, 2015 | Education
It’s hard to think of any public policy area that is more prone to magic answers than education, whether it is the focus today on community colleges or yesterday’s idea that the...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Sep 8, 2015 | Economic Development, Poverty
The purpose of a day-long conference last week was to pursue ways to reduce poverty, but in truth, it was most of all about developing a “superior growth model” for the Memphis...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Sep 2, 2015 | City of Memphis Government, Civil Rights, Economic Development, Poverty
It’s hard to think of a discussion that’s more important to the future of Memphis than the one taking place tomorrow: it’s about City of Memphis’ plan to reduce poverty by 10...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Sep 1, 2015 | City of Memphis Government, Economic Development
The relationship between the Greater Memphis Chamber and local government is akin to the reply from the elderly wife who was asked the secret to her long marriage: “Can’t live with...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Aug 28, 2015 | Downtown Revitalization
The following was posted not too long after Paul Morris took the helm of the downtown development agency. The post indicates progress that has been made and is a reminder of some things requiring attention. Originally posted...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Aug 26, 2015 | Poverty, Tennessee Legislature
Despite conventional wisdom, Shelby County does not have the highest poverty rate of Tennessee’s 95 counties. In fact, Shelby County is #32. Because poverty is pervasive in so many Tennessee...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Aug 24, 2015 | Uncategorized
In the wake of our recent post, Memphis: All Things Are Possible, we asked readers to submit how they’d describe the city as we know it. Following are two we received, but if you’d like to...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Aug 20, 2015 | Tennessee Legislature, Transportation
Once again, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam has another good idea that’s being shot down by Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris and the governor’s own political party. This time, it’s his proposal to raise the gas tax to pay for...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Aug 17, 2015 | Downtown Revitalization
If, as most of us agree, the purpose of life is to leave things better than we found them, Paul Morris should be justifiably proud of his five years at the helm of the Downtown Memphis Commission. When he became president of the...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Aug 13, 2015 | Downtown Revitalization, Economic Development, Parks and Greening
It feels like we’ve been here before, but this time, downtown Memphis has to make the most of it. Despite decades of concerted attention and hundreds of millions of dollars in investments and waived taxes for downtown, vibrancy...
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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.