Author: Smart City Memphis

We’ve always suspected that the monolith in 2001: A Space Odyssey was the first draft for the Shelby County Criminal Justice Center and Jail. God knows, the imposing hulk dominating a critical city block in downtown Memphis has...

It’s puzzling why it’s so hard for some elected officials to grasp the meaning of two straightforward laws that should guide all actions of the public sector – the Tennessee Open Meetings and Public Records laws.In a sentence,...

Gas prices have reached 4 dollars a gallon across the country. Home prices have plummeted. What does one have to do with the other. Our guest Joe Cortright is an economic analyst for Impresa Consulting in Portland Oregon and...

Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen sure has his panties in a wad.Or at least that was a political friend’s highly accurate – albeit inelegantly and highly colloquial – assessment.The governor appeared to be fuming because...

It’s always curious when economic development officials start talking like politicians who seem to think that admitting there is a problem is the same as being blamed for it.We thought of this as we read Tennessee Commissioner...

In light of the renewed call by Memphis Mayor Willie W. Herenton for Memphis City Schools to become part of city government with the mayor appointing the superintendent and board as well as a proposal for a Joint Board of...

Being a Memphian is a bit like being part of a dysfunctional family.We get so used to things as they are that we think every other family is just like ours. We start to think that our family really is normal…until we start...

The chest thumping by the Tennessee Department of Education about cutting $423 million in state money for Memphis City Schools unless City Council restores city funding is in the end headline-grabbing but little more than an...

Today on Smart City we’re talking about communities. Real ones, and the virtual neighborhoods found online in such social networking sites as facebook and meetup.Phil Wood is the co-author of “The Intercultural City,...