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Author: Smart City Memphis

City Council’s Same Day Minutes, A Memphis Anomaly

City Council’s Same Day Minutes, A Memphis Anomaly

Posted by | Dec 16, 2020 |

Thumbnail: Meeting after meeting, Memphis City Council continues to use “same day minutes” to skirt public discussions.  It’s simply become a way for a member to advance a resolution, vote on it, and to get the minutes approved at the same meeting.  There was a time when it was used for major issues, and even then, it was a way to sidestep robust public debate and it rewarded questions brought to the Council at the 11th hour.  

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Flashback from 2005: Studies Offer Reality Check on Memphis’ Urban Core

Flashback from 2005: Studies Offer Reality Check on Memphis’ Urban Core

Posted by | Dec 7, 2020 | , , ,

Thumbnail:  It’s not like we haven’t been warned about the racial disparity in income, thje poverty, the economic segregation, etc.  This blog post from 15 years ago also suggests that we shouldn’t allow our enthusiasm about downtown’s progress to obscure the sluggish economic growth that continues to be a drag on our trajectory.  It also suggests that our rhetoric regularly outstrips our actions to improve things, or we wouldn’t still be talking about the need to address some of these issues today.

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Systemic Racism and Car Insurance

Systemic Racism and Car Insurance

Posted by | Dec 2, 2020 |

Thumbnail:  The always perceptive Joe Cortright of the City Observatory think tank pointed out that the car insurance rate paid by bad or aggressive drivers is less that what is paid by people living in an African American neighborhood.  It’s why states should ban insurance rates being based on things like zip codes rather than on individual driving records. 

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Latest Bill Day Cartoon

Cowed, A Cartoon by Award-Winning Bill Day

by Bill Day. Memphian Bill Day is two-time winner of the RFK Journalism Award in Cartooning. His cartoons are syndicated internationally by Cagle Cartoons. Cartoons Archive →

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About Smart City Memphis

Since 2005, this has been Smart City Consulting’s blog with the aim of connecting the dots and providing perspective on issues and policies shaping Memphis.  Editor and primary author is Tom Jones, City Journal columnist at Memphis magazine, author of two books and a museum exhibition, and consultant on public policy and strategic planning.  He has written articles for MLK50, The Commercial Appeal, and USA Today. The blog was called one of the most intriguing blogs in the U.S. by the Pew Partnership for Civic Change; The (Memphis) Commercial Appeal said it “provides some of the most well-thought-out thinking about Memphis’ past, present, and future you’ll find anywhere,” and the Memphis Flyer said: “This incredibly well-written blog sets out to solve the city’s ills – from the mayor to MATA – with out-of-the-box thinking, fresh approaches to old problems, and new ideas.” If you have questions, submissions, or ideas for posts, please email Tom Jones, at tjones@smartcityconsulting.com.

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