Author: Smart City Memphis

The release each year by the Tennessee Department of Education of its State Report Card is accompanied by celebration and rhetoric about improving schools, but it’s the educational equivalent of the Detroit Tigers popping the...

The Memphis Regional Chamber is back from the brink. With a vengence.Just slightly more than a year ago, the city’s lead economic development agency was looking for a new president, and it was uncertain which would come first...

If there is a Democratic way of running government, the creation of an unneeded second Juvenile Court judge by the Shelby County Board of Commissioners is about to become its poster child.It’s too bad, because with less than...

Did you know that in the United States Congress, there is a task force on Livable Communities? Is your Congressman a member?Earl Blumenauer is. He represents Portland, Oregon and the people of the 3rd district in Congress, and...

In one of the most unusual shout-outs in local politics lately, Memphis Mayor Willie W. Herenton last week praised former Shelby County Commissioner John Willingham for his proposal to tax the 80,000 commuters coming into this...

From Otis White’s Urban Journal at governing.com. Otis is a regular guest on Smart City each week:The Fading Urban Marketplace of IdeasIf you look back on the novels written about cities since the 18th century, one theme...

It didn’t take long for the Memphis Fire Department to challenge the notion that it should manage the Shelby County Fire Department. As we mentioned in Friday’s post, fire officials have proven adept at blowing up...

Sometimes truly historic breakthroughs pass for wonkish public contracts. That’s certainly the case with the prospects of an intergovernmental agreement for fire protection between Shelby County and City of Memphis.For 20 years,...

The city is a reflection of its people — their beliefs, their skills, their relationships. Our guests today are working in very different ways to improve the city by improving the lives of the people who live there.Dr....

The most popular public official in Memphis isn’t on this year’s ballots. She’s running Memphis City Schools. So far, Superintendent Carol Johnson’s approval ratings haven’t translated into higher public confidence for the...