Author: Smart City Memphis

We were a little surprised this week to see a poster in the window of the UrbanArt Commission for the advocacy film, “Two Million Minutes,” a film that purports to demonstrate how far behind American students are...

Shelby County Mayor AC Wharton this week unveiled his Sustainable Shelby agenda, replete with 52 top-rated priorities and detailed recommendations in seven key areas.Doug Farr, green architect and author of Sustainable Urbanism,...

Perhaps, the journey to better public education in Memphis and Shelby County begins with a good, old-fashioned act of civil disobedience.After all, it is in the instances of such acts that state government has overriding...

Bill Moyers is always a favorite of ours – someone who’s managed to keep his idealism and his focus in the midst of political environments seeking to stamp them out.His recent column, “Is the Fourth Estate the Fifth Column,”...

Amie Vanderford, a reader and blog friend, is one of our favorite photographers of the Memphis that we know and love. She manages to capture it in all of its funky and eclectic charm. If you aren’t familiar with her work, you...

Smart City talks this week to Gaylynn Burroughs. She’s a Staff attorney at the Family Defense Practice at the Bronx Defenders in New York City. She’s written an article for the spring issue of Ms. Magazine that...

Memphis’ success in the knowledge economy depends largely on the presence of young, highly mobile, highly educated workers. We don’t have them now, and the bad news for us is that for cities, the rich get richer and...

It’s been a long time since we’ve knocked around in one of those big, spooky, abandoned buildings that captivated us as kids. Today, we visited its virtual version – The Pyramid. It exudes the same uncared for...

Inspired by the Memphis Flyer’s cover story of a few weeks ago, we asked you the same question:What would you do if you were in charge of Memphis?Thanks to those of you who took the time to comment.Here’s a few of your...

We suspect that the Shelby County Board of Commissioners isn’t seriously going to hold up the county budget to get the attention of Shelby County Schools, but it was past time for the county legislators to send the message...