Will Unified School Board Make the Grade?
Anytime there’s a lag in political intrigue in Memphis and Shelby County, we can always depend on our school issues to produce some. That’s particularly true when it involves...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | May 29, 2012 | Education, Memphis City Schools
Anytime there’s a lag in political intrigue in Memphis and Shelby County, we can always depend on our school issues to produce some. That’s particularly true when it involves...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | May 29, 2012 | City of Memphis Government
It’s a sure sign spring is here when the azaleas bloom and City of Memphis officials say they are facing the most difficult budget hearings ever. It’s the political instinct to lower...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | May 24, 2012 | Economic Development, Transportation
It’s been two weeks since we created the Facebook group, Delta Does Memphis, because of our concern about the damaging impact that unfair airfares are having on the Memphis...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | May 22, 2012 | Planning and Urban Design, Regionalism, Transportation
We’ve decided that highway projects are the modern equivalent of the old Bela Lugosi Dracula movies. You can drive a stake in him but he’ll always rise again. That’s certainly...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | May 18, 2012 | City of Memphis Government, Education
It’s been a tough few days for the ‘burbs. Shelby County Commissioner Mike Ritz released his analysis of the municipal schools’ costs and the taxes needed to fund them, and...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | May 16, 2012 | City of Memphis Government, Economic Development, Transportation
Returning to Memphis a few weeks ago after participating in a Washington, D.C., panel sponsored by the Washington Monthly and New America Foundation about the...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | May 14, 2012 | Civil Rights
There are those who believe that there are Biblical admonitions against miscegenation. Should we put it up to a vote to see if African-Americans and...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | May 11, 2012 | Economic Development, Transportation
Here’s your chance to send Delta Airlines a message. We’ve written previously about the declining service provided by Delta Airlines to Memphis International Airport and...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | May 10, 2012 | City of Memphis Government, Economic Development, Transportation
Chuck Marohn of Strong Towns was in Memphis recently to share his passion about America’s places and what can be done to build a town or neighborhood the right way..by obtaining the highest return on infrastructure...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | May 9, 2012 | City of Memphis Government, Livability, Transportation
We’re about to find out if all the talk about a livable Memphis and placemaking was just that – talk. The answer will be delivered in Whitehaven...
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.