County Officials Elect To Be Divided
Except for the most hidebound partisans, it’s hard to deny that all the dire predictions about the impact of partisan elections in Shelby County mayor and commissioners’ races...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Oct 13, 2014 | Shelby County government
Except for the most hidebound partisans, it’s hard to deny that all the dire predictions about the impact of partisan elections in Shelby County mayor and commissioners’ races...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Oct 8, 2014 | Politics and Government, Tennessee Legislature
Christian doctrine says that God gave us free will. The backers of Amendment 1 would take that away. They want to take away the options of women in Tennessee to make their...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Oct 7, 2014 | City of Memphis Government, Taxation
Previously published in the September issue of Memphis Magazine as its City Journal column: City of Memphis is the Rodney Dangerfield of government. Speakers at Memphis City...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Oct 3, 2014 | Criminal Justice
It’s hard these days not to feel that Memphis is under siege, beaten up, and out of control. No, we’re not talking about youth violence. We’re talking about television...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Oct 1, 2014 | Uncategorized
Over on our Facebook page, we’re posting several articles daily that deal with issues that are relevant for Memphis. We’ve asked what are the five best examples of placemaking in Memphis...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Oct 1, 2014 | Economic Development, Livability, Talent, Uncategorized
Part I was posted September 29: Today, we have many visions for key sectors that will determine the future of Memphis. The school reform agenda – with charters, Achievement School...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Sep 29, 2014 | Economic Development, Livability, Talent
There are hopeful signs that the Memphis region’s economic decline has bottomed out, but there’s still little doubt that it will be a slog to get back to pre-Recession...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Sep 26, 2014 | Shelby County government
To read the budget for Shelby County budget, there is the requirement to accept the following disclaimer, which seems the height of bureaucratic thinking. Thankfully, the City of Memphis budget is easily available and without...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Sep 25, 2014 | Criminal Justice
From The Urban Child Institute’s Perceptions Commentaries: It’s now simply known as the Kroger incident, and it unleashed a torrent of anguish and anxiety about the state of Memphis youth. In the aftermath, many have...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Sep 24, 2014 | Livability, Parks and Greening
We’ve never met Jim Duncan but we’re indebted to him. He retired earlier this month as executive director of the Memphis Botanic Garden after a decade of leadership. The transformation of Memphis Botanic Garden’s 96 acres during...
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 solves 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.