Author: Smart City Memphis

The mayor of Lakeland had his feelings bruised recently when Shelby County Mayor A C Wharton didn’t give him the same advance warning as the other town mayors about another push for consolidation.Based on comments in The...

The decision to change the name of our alma mater has never looked smarter.Gone is the limp Memphis State University moniker and in its place is the assertive-sounding University of Memphis.This week, it’s looked like the...

Our friend, Amie Vanderford, has posted some gorgeous photos depicting what she loves about Memphis. As she puts it: “I know that we face problems in Memphis, but when looked at through loving eyes, this is still a...

It’s never been clearer that regionalism here is more rhetoric than reality than when DeSoto County acts like an island when it comes to air quality attainment. Its attitude was about as surprising as finding a photograph of...

There is probably no tougher issue for urban leaders than education. Fads come and go but test scores never quite live up to the promises.Dr. Ken Wong is a national expert on education accountability and he has found a...

Our colleague Carol Coletta was interviewed by USA Today about the need for cities to pay attention to ways to keep young people in cities after they have started their families. It’s a special challenge for Memphis, but...

Out in the hinterlands, calls for consolidation are undercut when Memphis city government can’t even manage to get the basics right, such as enforcing panhandling laws in downtown Memphis.We’ve not written lately about the...

He who has the gold makes the rules. That’s always been especially true when it comes to local musicians.After all, they’ve watched over the years as big ideas have been chased and big promises have been made while the small...

Grist magazine has published its articles on its trip down the river, including its reporting about the Memphis riverfront. It’s always interesting to see ourselves as others see us. Here’s the link.

There are some things that transcend the day-to-day retail politics of Memphis and the personality-driven coverage of the news media.Surely 115,000 Memphis City Schools students are at the top of that list.There is no one who...