Author: Smart City Memphis

The grand experiment that began 32 years ago to reinvent Shelby County Government as an urban government is coming to a close. It began with such promise on a clear, unseasonably warm New Year’s Day in 1976 when Shelby...

Consolidation is equal parts fact and fiction. More than 35 years of spasmodic attention has done little to increase understanding of consolidation in Memphis and Shelby County. As the discussion continues, here’s a...

Cities with consolidated governments are the exception, not the rule. Of the 3,141 counties and 20,000 municipalities in the U.S., a grand total of 35 are consolidated, or 1.1 percent of counties.Referenda on consolidation are...

It is inevitable.It’s the “consolidation moment,” the time in every meeting where the future of Memphis is being discussed. It’s when someone holds up the merger of city and county governments as the answer to all that ails our...

In light of Memphis Mayor Willie W. Herenton’s latest call for consolidated city-county governments, we’ll focus on the facts and fiction of consolidation in the next few days, beginning with the reprise of a March...

This week on Smart City, we’re talking innovation with two inspired thinkers. First we’ll speak with Chris Anderson. He’s the editor-in-chief of Wired Magazine and is author of the book, The Long Tail, which...

We need more churches like Idlewild Presbyterian Church.If you are Christian, you may be like us. We tire from our faith being high jacked by a minority who uses it as a whip to lash anyone who disagrees politically, who has a...

There could be merit to the proposal for the school boards to have taxing authority, but it’s up to school officials to carry the burden of proof. They’re not even close yet.If Dr. Jeff Warren’s prescription for taxing authority...

Who would have guessed that the most serious wave of socialism wouldn’t bubble up from the demands of the unwashed masses but would walk over in Canali suits from Wall Street?It’s been a long, strange journey, and it may get...

There is little question that city and county governments made a serious misjudgment when they expanded the Memphis Cook Convention Center.Because of it, we’re inclined not to join those dismissing out of hand Mayor Willie W....