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I hope you like Smart City Memphis’ new look. As part of the revamp, some nagging internal...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jul 22, 2020 | Uncategorized
I hope you like Smart City Memphis’ new look. As part of the revamp, some nagging internal...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jul 20, 2020 | Uncategorized
Posted by Smart City Memphis | Jul 20, 2020 | City of Memphis Government, Livability
Thumbnail: Memphis lags significantly behind comparable cities in its investment in affordable housing. If it halved the $19.3 million increase in the police and fire budgets and used that half to fund bonds, it could invest $106 million to address the city’s serious affordable housing deficit.
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jul 16, 2020 | City of Memphis Government, Economic Development
Thumbnail: Memphis launches a $1 million housing trust that is underwhelming when compared to other cities. It cries out for a robust program to increase home ownership and give all Memphians an opportunity to create wealth.
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jul 14, 2020 | City of Memphis Government, Downtown Revitalization, Livability
Thumbnail: Memphis can be a leader in a movement that downsizes or removes waterfront streets to improve quality of life. Downtown Commission’s Master Plan calls for a reevaluation and a possible road diet for Riverside Drive.
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jul 10, 2020 | City of Memphis Government, Criminal Justice
Thumbnail: I recently posted a New York Daily News’ column by David Eichenthal, prominent consultant on city finances and justice with the PFM Group. He was also lead consultant to City of Memphis’ Five Year Strategic Fiscal and Management Plan. He says police and corrections have become sacred cows, with elected officials calling for more police as a show of their commitment to crime reduction, when it is time to reexamine and revamp hiring practices to require standards of professionalism, no tolerance policies toward abuse, and common sense policies limiting the use of force.
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jul 9, 2020 | City of Memphis Government, Education, Shelby County government
Thumbnail: For the first time since the municipalites formed their own districts, Shelby County Schools District will receive a larger share of county and local sales tax funding than last year. The school districts in the municipalities will get less.
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jul 8, 2020 | Uncategorized
Thumbnail: Police killings of Americans are up, and African Americans are victims at a rate more than twice as high as its percentage of population. The number of police killed by Americans is down.
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jul 7, 2020 | Uncategorized
Posted by Smart City Memphis | Jul 7, 2020 | Uncategorized
Thumbnail: Covid-19 is rebounding with a vengeance in the Sun Belt, and Memphis is one of the hot...
Read Moreby 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 →
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, columnist at Memphis magazine, author of two books and a museum exhibition, and consultant on public policy and strategic planning. Smart City Memphis was called one of the most intriguing blogs in the U.S. by the Pew Partnership for Civic Change; The (Memphis) Commercial Appeal wrote: “Smart City Memphis 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 solves 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.