The Perfect Marriage: PILOTs and Community Benefits Agreements
Note: Community Benefits Agreements are being used in cities across the United States to set out what companies and developers will do for the community in return for...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Oct 27, 2014 | Uncategorized
Note: Community Benefits Agreements are being used in cities across the United States to set out what companies and developers will do for the community in return for...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Oct 24, 2014 | Downtown Revitalization, Economic Development
One of our favorite things about this community is its lack of pretension and snobbiness. Perhaps, it comes from the fact that the character of the city was shaped fundamentally...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Oct 23, 2014 | Economic Development, Talent
Memphis is struggling, our challenges are daunting, and maybe, just maybe, we should acknowledge those facts in making a pitch for the 25-34 year-old college-educated talent that...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Oct 20, 2014 | Taxation, Tennessee Legislature
We all know people who are egotistical to the point of arrogance. They think they are always right and only their opinion matters. They always volunteer their advice and opinions to...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Oct 17, 2014 | Poverty, Shelby County government
Previously posted February 5, 2010, but becoming more true everyday: The primary reason we are so exorcised about I-269 and other sprawl-inducing highway projects are because they deepen the economic segregation that...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Oct 15, 2014 | Downtown Revitalization
The Downtown Memphis Commission’s recently released “State of Downtown” report underscored the message that downtown is crucial to Memphis and its future and how the CBD...
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 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.