Author: Smart City Memphis

From Otis White’s Urban Journal at www.governing.com:Not all things were better in the past, but one thing in cities was genuinely better 30 years ago: business leadership, particularly among big companies. Alas, today’s...

Memphis is hollowing out.That’s the conclusion of research by the Brookings Institution. Earlier this week, we suggested that Memphis Mayor Willie W. Herenton read research about Memphis instead of relying on political insiders...

This news release on some landmark research by CEOs For Cities seems especially pertinent today, with Memphis Mayor Willie W. Herenton saying that our city has to keep giving away tax freezes to counter the exodus of people from...

Would someone in city or county governments please buy copies of the current issue of Fast Company for members of the Memphis and Shelby County Industrial Development Board?While you are at it, mark the article, “Rise of the...

The current controversy about the FedExForum garage is quickly becoming about more than why plans were changed and how $6.3 million in federal funds were lost. There are resurrected questions about the contract between Memphis...

Dell Inc. is expanding its Nashville operations by as many as 1,000 employees, adding to 3,500-person workforce that has grown there since the computer giant started its $200 million Middle Tennessee operations in 1999. For the...

It is the fundamental nature of negotiations that they are always susceptible to second guessing by anyone not involved directly in them. That’s the case whether the negotiation is for the sale of a business or for construction...

Some weeks, newspaper articles make for an interesting point-counterpoint.That’s certainly the case this week. One day, the city attorney says that a loss of $6.3 million in federal funding for air quality improvements has “very...

Business Week reports this week on a new innovations workshops to help cities and they will involve Memphis:Detroit, reeling from decades of auto-industry layoffs and a dwindling population, has a new plan for stimulating...

From Forbes magazine this week comes this report on the PILOT program that waives more than $50 million a year (city and county taxes combined; this article only addresses city tax freezes):States and cities lure businesses with...