Author: Smart City Memphis

Every day, I have the same thought.Sitting in the line of traffic in the construction chaos at Walnut Grove between I-240 and Shelby Farms Park, I look at the enormity of thus roadbuilding project and I say to myself: “I don’t...

We continue to solicit contributions from readers who have ideas for improving Memphis. This post is the latest in that series, and it comes from Dr. Aaron Shafer, a postdoctoral fellow conducting research at St. Jude...

Tennessee Commissioner of Economic and Community Development Matt Kisber acts these days like a new state law is the answer to the state’s dismal showing in the competition for the $1.3 billion Toyota plant earlier this...

Innovation is now viewed as America’s economic salvation. Every urban leader is trying to figure out how to get more of it. And they couldn’t find a better adviser than Richard Lester. As founding director of the...

If success is defined as the ability to know when to sell your stock at its highest value, Carol Johnson is public education’s version of Warren Buffett. Unquestionably, she’s making a change in her job at the exact moment when...

Where’s URS Corporation and NexGen Advisors when we really need them?Remember them. They were the consultants who produced the 97-page report on the city/county Payment-In-Lieu-of-Tax (PILOT) program that led to its much-needed...

We hope Memphis Mayor Willie W. Herenton read the front page of The New York Times yesterday, which bore a headline: “Call Snake Wranglers.”Apparently, based on the coverage of L.A.’s booming $125 a snake business, he isn’t the...

A new study from Americans for the Arts claims that each year in America the nonprofit arts and culture industry generates $166 billion in economic activity. Our guests this week are leading efforts to make sure their cities get...

It wasn’t exactly a “Man Bites Dog” news story. The lead and second graph in The Commercial Appeal said:“…improvements could cost up to $20 million and mean the loss of 10,000 seats at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium…the findings...

So, here’s the question of the week:What do you think the future of the Fairgrounds should be? What do you see as the greatest obstacles to it taking place.We asked the question in light of the movement toward a resolution of...