Author: Smart City Memphis

Mayor Herenton finally met his match last week when he bowed out of his latest campaign for school consolidation. In acknowledging that his presence is a lightning rode for controversy, he threw in the towel. But his defeat was...

It is a day to wonder if any government can get it right.Leaving television reports filled with today’s images of Hurricane Katrina, I drove to the Justice Center to go to traffic court. It’s not an experience that builds...

It’s been a historic week for the news media covering Hurricane Katrina. They have discovered poor, black people.There is widespread outrage about the deaths directly caused by the failure of our federal government to mobilize...

The following blog from early August is worth revisiting now that the Memphis Regional Chamber has taken a “more of the same” approach to its future with the selection of its next president. The new head of the...

When conversation turns to developers’ stranglehold over local government, inevitably, people talk about some members of the Shelby County Board of Commissioners and Memphis City Council.Almost never mentioned are the public...

This Washington Business Journal column from its August 19 edition came to us after our blog last week on the direct line that runs between city design and the obesity crisis. It is no coincidence that Portland, Oregon, is home...

This op-ed article by Carol Coletta is printed courtesy of www. planetizen.com where it was featured last week:Cities aren’t in decline. The way population change is “measured” by the Census Bureau leaves much...

It’s always good to listen to a billionaire’s opinions, especially when he’s Bill Gates, someone who has made his fortune by foretellling the future before any one else and whose foundations put his money where his mouth is.A...

Today’s Chicago Sun-Times editorial page declares, “Look at us now: Downtown’s rebirth has saved city’s soul.”Here’s what the editorial writers had to say:”Why is Chicago such a fabulous...

John Branston’s Memphis Flyer column this week analyzed actual increases in attendance at the Zoo since the pandas’ arrival compared to estimates of what could be expected. Instead of the predicted 400,000 new...