Author: Smart City Memphis

While we seem to be unenthusiastically backing into choosing a mayor for Memphis for the next four years, Nashville is saying farewell to one who showed what a highly effective, highly engaged mayor can accomplish.From his...

It’s a given that regions are the competitive units for the global economy, but while Memphis still struggles to come to grips with what this really means, a new reality is unfolding to complicate our competitiveness even...

Two new reports are out from CEOs for Cities, and their authors are with us this week to discuss their findings.Charles Leadbeater, who consults worldwide on innovation strategy, suggests that cities now face problems more like...

The conversation about what small advantages in Memphis can become major economic advantages is continuing, and so we want to post recent comments here to make sure you’re keeping up (and can contribute):Jon...

Cities – including Memphis – are sitting on assets that can be leased to pay for crumbling infrastructure, to improve maintenance and to improve bond ratings.At least that’s the opinion of Dana Levenson, former Chief Financial...

Little more than a week ago, we submitted a “question of the week” based on Harvard University economist Edward L. Glaeser’s 43-page paper, “Urban Colossus: Why Is New York America’s Largest City.”In it, he made a seminal point...

It’s not often that Memphis has the chance to be a trend setter, but one of the least understood proposals before the Memphis Charter Commission would give us just such a chance.It’s Instant Runoff Voting, a proposal submitted...

The reelection of Memphis Mayor Willie W. Herenton moves with an inevitability these days that belies the need that exists for a serious discussion about the future of our city. If nothing shakes up the campaign for mayor, he...

The Bear Revolution is upon us. So says Jonathan Taplin, a long-time innovator in the entertainment field and Adjunct Professor at the Annenberg School of Communication where his areas of specialization are in International...

We can only be grateful that Memphis Mayor Willie W. Herenton believes that his legacy is based on downtown Memphis. With four decades of experience in the downtown core, we’ve never seen it with more trash, more poorly...