Author: Smart City Memphis

Why are these people smiling?While Memphis City Schools is developing a national reputation for innovative school reform, Shelby County Schools seemed mired in a business as usual approach to public education.This means that in...

McKinsey Quarterly reports on the “currents that will make the world of 2015 a very different place to do business from the world of today.” Among those are these four with particular relevance to urban...

Finally, the tail is not wagging the dog. For the first time in recent history, Memphis City Schools’ capital funding needs are center stage with Shelby County Schools moved to a supporting role. That’s as it should be, because...

In yesterday’s post, we questioned whether the needed changes in the PILOT program will ever get a fair hearing. We hope the same can’t be said about the proposal for a payroll tax.With about 88,000 people driving into Shelby...

The primary question these days about the consultants’ study about tax freezes isn’t what changes will ultimately be made in the program, but if the recommendations will ever get a fair hearing.Last week, there was the meeting...

The latest study of 51 cities – the largest in each state and the District of Columbia – shows that Memphis is moving to the head of the list. Unfortunately, it’s the head of the list of the cities with the most unfair tax...

Paul Grogan, CEOs for Cities founder and president of the Boston Foundation, was our guest on this week’s “Smart City,” and the subject was civic leaderhsip. Paul outlined the direction he has set for the...

County elected officials talk about the evils of sprawl, the OPD staff keeps working on planning reports and the taxpayers keep grumbling, but reading headlines ballyhooing the coming completion of Tennessee Highway 385, it’s...

Featured on today’s planetizen.com are the findings of CEOs for Cities’ research that are key to Memphis’ continued downtown revital and our city’s competitiveness in the future: Economist Joe Cortright...

With expanding inquiries into the lobbying firms of former staff members and friends of former House Whip Tom DeLay, this post of September 26 seems even more relevant:Another unfortunate feature of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita...