City Council Passes Test for Fiscal Equity
Memphis City Council rarely gets any respect, but it has produced the most significant public policy improvement in decades. It’s done it by shifting regional services...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Aug 10, 2012 | City of Memphis Government, Shelby County government, Taxation
Memphis City Council rarely gets any respect, but it has produced the most significant public policy improvement in decades. It’s done it by shifting regional services...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Aug 8, 2012 | Education
Pre-K Matters It’s a simple statement of fact, backed by the findings by hundreds of researchers over many years and the experiences of tens of thousands of educators. Pre-K Matters. They are two words that should be at the top...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Aug 6, 2012 | Civil Rights, Education
It seemed somehow fitting that the landslide school referenda in Shelby County towns and Chick-fil-A appreciation day happened in a 24-hour news cycle. They both...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Aug 2, 2012 | Downtown Revitalization, Livability, Planning and Urban Design
This is the latest installment of our occasional feature, Urban Indifference, which focuses on problems that are pock marks on our urban environment. There are a number of cities across the country that are fighting the big...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jul 31, 2012 | Education, Shelby County government
It’s been a tough few days for the First Amendment. Between our university and our county government, it’s hard to figure out which is the most ham-handed and well, in the...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jul 27, 2012 | Economic Development, Transportation
There’s nothing more fundamental for consumers than to express their opinions to a business from which we are buying a product. But we’ve learned that airline and airport...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jul 25, 2012 | Shelby County government
Our friend, blogger Steve Ross, also a candidate for Shelby County Board of Commissioners, continues his public service reporting on the troubling issues at the Shelby County Election Commission. His investigation has...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jul 24, 2012 | Uncategorized
There have been 60 mass shootings in the United States since the January 8, 2011, massacre in Tucson, Arizona. Below are three from recent weeks. Click here for the entire list since 2005. – Chicago, IL: Four youngsters...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jul 20, 2012 | Shelby County government
Maybe The Commercial Appeal should keep this week’s headline handy so it can be cut and pasted for each election cycle: Shelby County election officials say they’ve corrected voting problems. Of course, it’s rarely the...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jul 18, 2012 | City of Memphis Government, Politics and Government
It’s a favorite refrain of voters outside Memphis: If only Memphis would quit electing incompetent elected officials, we would be willing to love the...
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.