Author: Smart City Memphis

More and more, cities and states are stepping in to address issues that traditionally would have been the province of the federal government. Last June, we wrote about the then 170 city mayors who had signed on to carry out the...

In light of WMC-TV’s coverage of Sunday’s post about county schools, the following commentary from last month seems to be worth a repeat:Why are these people smiling?While Memphis City Schools is developing a...

In December, the University of Pittsburgh Center for Social and Urban Research published a report called “The Roots of Pittsburgh’s Financial Crisis.” It could just as easily be called “A Cautionary Tale for Memphis.”The report...

As we pointed out last week, the rhetoric of Shelby County Schools officials often bears little resemblance to reality, whether the subject is growth, consolidation and academic achievement.It’s a prime example of how if...

From Otis White’s Urban Journal at governing.com:If ever there was a lost cause for cities, you’d think it would be affordable housing. After all, the average price of housing in the U.S. has increased by 73 percent in the...

From AIA Oregon Newsletter: By George Crandall, 8 figure dream lifestyle Lifestyle centers are cropping up across the country. Communities everywhere are jumping on the lifestyle bandwagon without questioning how these new...

In light of the historic compromise highway plan that can end a generation of controversy about the Kirby-Whitten Road through Shelby Farms Park, we are revisiting our November 7 post about the “context sensitive...

Sometimes, when the spirited defense of the current PILOT program begins, it seems to lose touch with reality. In the consultant’s report recommending the overhaul of the current tax incentives program, this is what’s written on...

Emily Trenholm must sometimes feel like the tiredest member of the Donner Party. If she dozes off, there’s just too much that can happen.As executive director of Community Development Council of Greater Memphis, Emily is...

It’s an immutable law of modern politics that no matter what else you do as an elected official, you have to keep your base happy. No matter what. Sadly, in recent years, this inviolate belief has grown to obsession, spawning an...