John Willingham Barges In With Big Idea
It sounds for some people like the beginning of a story that ends in a punch line: John Willingham and Buckminster Fuller were on a panel at the Massachusetts Institute of...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | May 2, 2012 | Economic Development
It sounds for some people like the beginning of a story that ends in a punch line: John Willingham and Buckminster Fuller were on a panel at the Massachusetts Institute of...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Apr 30, 2012 | Economic Development, Transportation
Memphis International Airport is the poster child for deregulation gone amok. When the airline industry was deregulated in 1979, the promise was more...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Apr 27, 2012 | City of Memphis Government, Downtown Revitalization, Economic Development, Livability
The Memphis Police Union cheapens the value and importance of our law officers these days by positioning itself largely as a special interest group rather than an organization...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Apr 25, 2012 | Economic Development, Transportation
Yesterday, I participated in a panel discussion sponsored by New America Foundation in conjunction with Washington Monthly to follow up the article in the magazine’s recent issue, Terminal Sickness, which addressed the adverse...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Apr 24, 2012 | City of Memphis Government
Local government budget hearings haven’t even begun yet and it’s already spawned mythic conversations. There are the myths about the myths cited by Memphis City Councilman Joe...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Apr 20, 2012 | City of Memphis Government, Livability, Neighborhoods, Planning and Urban Design
Note — This post is based on a central premise: that the changes to the UDC ultimately reflect the low priority that local government puts on planning and urban...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Apr 16, 2012 | City of Memphis Government, Taxation
Legendary Bellevue Baptist Church preacher R.G. Lee had a legendary sermon called “Pay Day Someday.” It was an emotional sermon made even more dramatic by his...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Apr 13, 2012 | City of Memphis Government, Politics and Government, Taxation
Legendary Bellevue Baptist Church preacher R.G. Lee had an equally legendary sermon called “Pay Day Someday.” It’s a theme that aptly sums up the tenor of the upcoming City of...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Apr 10, 2012 | City of Memphis Government, Planning and Urban Design, Politics and Government, Tennessee Legislature
The business of the Tennessee Legislature is enacting laws, but the predominant ones on display in Nashville often are the law of unintended consequences and...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Apr 5, 2012 | City of Memphis Government, Economic Development
Facing a budget shortfall of about $17 million, Memphis City Council would be guilty of neglect of duty if it didn’t take a close look at the roughly $25 million in city...
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.