No Lucky Cloverleaf for Memphians
Two articles in Sunday’s Commercial Appeal could have been “tombstoned,” which, in the parlance of newspaper journalism, means the headlines and stories are side-by-side. Of...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Feb 29, 2012 | City of Memphis Government, Taxation, Transportation
Two articles in Sunday’s Commercial Appeal could have been “tombstoned,” which, in the parlance of newspaper journalism, means the headlines and stories are side-by-side. Of...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Feb 27, 2012 | Taxation
Nothing is quite as confusing as government financing, and that’s never been truer than now. There seems to be big numbers every where – the $30 million for The Pyramid, there’s the idea of a new convention center likely...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Feb 23, 2012 | Economic Development, Education, Trends and Issues, Uncategorized
We’ve shown up in several places lately, and we appreciate the attention. Featured in PolitiFact First, The Commercial Appeal’s outstanding PolitiFact’s Truth-o-Meter ruled that...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Feb 21, 2012 | Taxation
Shelby County Government has been a prisoner of the past. Or more specifically, it is captive to poor decisions about public policies made as long ago as 30 years, policies that set county government off in directions...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Feb 20, 2012 | Education
Nothing is more frustrating than trying to be reasonable with unreasonable people or trying to be logical with illogical people. It’s tempting to apply this principle to...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Feb 17, 2012 | Politics and Government
Men are from Mars and women are from Venus, but often, the men making religious decisions seem to come from an entirely different universe. Or maybe they just have a chronically...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Feb 16, 2012 | Arts and Culture, Leadership
The most exciting things happening in Memphis these days aren’t in the halls of power or among the power brokers. Instead, they are produced by a burst of entrepreneurship unseen here in 30 years However, this time, the...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Feb 14, 2012 | City of Memphis Government, Livability, Parks and Greening
It’s not the official City of Memphis name for its newest division, but for us, it will always be the Division of PLACE. PLACE: Parks, Libraries, Arts, and Cultural Enrichment....
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Feb 13, 2012 | Downtown Revitalization
From Atlantic Cities, a great idea for Memphis: In response to last week’s story on the curious art or urban wayfinding, reader Andy Little pointed us to some cool guerrilla wayfinding going on in Raleigh, North Carolina....
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Feb 10, 2012 | Education, Uncategorized
The Commercial Appeal reported: Jim Mitchell of Southern Educational Strategies, who conducted the municipal schools feasibility study for five of the suburbs, has consistently noted that 44 county schools were absorbed by the...
Read More
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.