Pre-K Fact Sheet
New research from a Vanderbilt study released a couple of months ago. supports national and local studies that preschool helps children succeed in school. The study, still in its interim stage, reflects many of the same...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Nov 18, 2013 | Education
New research from a Vanderbilt study released a couple of months ago. supports national and local studies that preschool helps children succeed in school. The study, still in its interim stage, reflects many of the same...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Nov 15, 2013 | Education
When we look to cities that are moving in the right direction these days, it’s almost inevitable that there was a point in time when a strategic decision or investment was made that changed their trajectories for the better. The...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Nov 12, 2013 | City of Memphis Government, Neighborhoods, Shelby County government
There’s so much under way in Memphis that’s exciting in the way that they are creating new economic engines and adding new quality of life assets, but often, people in neighborhoods out of the mainstream – those under serious...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Nov 8, 2013 | Downtown Revitalization
By far, the most exciting part of the “Main to Main Multi-Modal Connector Project” for us is that it is supposed to fix the eyesores and poor maintenance that have plagued Main Street for more than 15 years, sending the message...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Nov 5, 2013 | City of Memphis Government, Neighborhoods, Planning and Urban Design
The vote by Memphis City Council is still about six weeks away, but it’s becoming clearer and clearer that it’s about much more than whether McDonald’s can build a suburban restaurant on on a key corner in the University of...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Nov 1, 2013 | Economic Development, Talent
This seems to be the moment in time when we finally are faced squarely with making a fundamental choice: whether we are content for Memphis to become the Southern version of Cleveland or whether we have the courage to throw...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Oct 30, 2013 | City of Memphis Government, Economic Development, Shelby County government
Some members of the Shelby County Board of Commissioners are incensed because City of Memphis has not ponied up its $7.5 million for the budget of Memphis and Shelby County Economic Development Growth Engine (EDGE), but then...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Oct 28, 2013 | Education
This may turn out to be the Year of the Child in Memphis. In 2013, we saw the merger of the old city and county school districts into the new Shelby County Schools. Despite rhetoric by some critics — especially suburban ones —...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Oct 25, 2013 | Education
This is what we wrote January 20, 2012: This week, the mayors got a consultants’ report that said, surprise, they were right all along. But considering that they hired the former Shelby County Schools superintendent, it really...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Oct 23, 2013 | Downtown Revitalization, Planning and Urban Design
Standing at the foot of Union Avenue, two couples from Indiana are surveying the Mississippi River when one of the men said: “I’ve been here four times for Elvis Week. I absolutely love this city, but it doesn’t look much...
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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.