Author: Smart City Memphis

When it comes to interpreting the political tea leaves, Memphis City Schools Board of Commissioners is about as good as Mid-South Fair carnies.Repeatedly, state government tried to send nuanced messages that should have alerted...

With grand plans to become a community known for its strong strategic planning and its sustainability policies, the Town of Piperton at the same time runs the risk of giving new meaning to the term, Podunk community.The...

Rarely has there been a more aptly named document than Memphis City Schools’ “Proposal for Expenditures of Additional State Revenue.”It’s the Academic Affairs Department’s plan to spend $42 million in new state funds, and it...

Cities are like elephants. They get more economical with size. That’s the conclusion of Dr. Geoffrey West, president of the Santa Fe Institute. Together with ecologist Jim Brown of the University of New Mexico, he is...

In light of today’s lively discussion, here’s the link to the Shelby County Schools’ high school attendance zones.

U.S. District Judge Bernice Donald was wrong in her ruling about Shelby County Schools.She criticized the county school district for not taking race into consideration when it created its school attendance zones.The truth is:...

Little more than a week ago, we wrote about the hardening attitude of state government about the 17 high-priority schools in Memphis City Schools and prospects for some dramatic action by the governor.In response to the post, we...

Memphis never seems to have so little energy that it isn’t willing to fight an old battle one more time.The current archetype for this tendency is taking place at the National Civil Rights Museum, where, 16 years after being...

Exploring what it means to be a Creative City has been a regular topic on Smart City. This week we’ll visit with Lynda Dorrington who is leading her own creative city movement in Perth, an isolated city on the west coast...

In pursuing that elusive quality – vibrancy – that regularly seems at the heart of successful cities, Memphis, like many mid-sized cities, searches often for the magic of big projects and major public investments.The irony is...