Legislature’s Obsessed By Overreach While Reaching Over Into Local Affairs
It’s a tried and true talking point for the members of the Tennessee Legislature camped out on the extremist right wing of the Republican Party. It’s...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Feb 16, 2015 | Tennessee Legislature
It’s a tried and true talking point for the members of the Tennessee Legislature camped out on the extremist right wing of the Republican Party. It’s...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Feb 13, 2015 | Poverty
Memphis has almost 170,000 youths and half of them are living in poverty, but only about 30,000 to 40,000 are touched by the programs with the highest profiles for...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Feb 10, 2015 | Uncategorized
We wrote about incarceration rates in our last post, and how the rate for the Memphis MSA is higher than most of the peer cities that we often compare ourselves to. Here are the rates, which represents the number of prisoners...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Feb 9, 2015 | Criminal Justice, Trends and Issues
The incarceration rate for the Memphis MSA is about 80% higher than the Atlanta region and more than three times higher than Birmingham region. The Memphis MSA rate is two times...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Feb 5, 2015 | Shelby County government, Taxation, Tennessee Legislature
Sometimes, it’s just hard to understand how some people can sleep at night. Certainly, last night, guilty consciences should have made Tennessee Senators Mark Norris and...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Feb 4, 2015 | City of Memphis Government
In June, 2006, we posted a commentary about the negotiations involving FedEx Forum as the controversy about its construction and financing flared up again. It’s...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Feb 1, 2015 | Leadership, Shelby County government, Trends and Issues
One of the most puzzling – if not self-destructive – aspects of local political behavior is seen regularly in suburban elected officials who seem to believe that they can...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jan 29, 2015 | Planning and Urban Design, Shelby County government
For the second time in little more than a year, Shelby County Government is taking action with the Tennessee Legislature to undermine a long-held policy that recognized the importance of protecting the economic heart of...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jan 28, 2015 | Economic Development
We received the following notes from someone long involved in our community’s economic development regarding the changes in EDGE policies: From Economic Development Growth...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jan 26, 2015 | City of Memphis Government, Economic Development, Taxation
The controversial approval of the first-of-its kind retail tax abatement in Memphis and Shelby County for IKEA runs the risk of the EDGE board winning the battle and losing...
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.