Donald Shoup: Why Parking Reform Will Save The City
In light of the Downtown Memphis’ Commission’s review of downtown parking and ways to make it more effective and efficient, we are posting a commentary by retired UCLA...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Oct 18, 2019 | Downtown Revitalization, Livability, Planning and Urban Design
In light of the Downtown Memphis’ Commission’s review of downtown parking and ways to make it more effective and efficient, we are posting a commentary by retired UCLA...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Oct 16, 2019 | Uncategorized
As we watch local government officials who can’t seem to get the facts straight or understand...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Oct 14, 2019 | City of Memphis Government, Economic Development
In 1997, legendary musician, singer, and producer Jim Dickinson – whose reputation extended far beyond Memphis as he rubbed shoulders as a peer with the Rolling Stones, Big...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Oct 11, 2019 | City of Memphis Government
By Shirley Bondon October 3, 2019: Did Memphis Speak? Is Silence Agreement or Consent? On October 3, 2019, 96,425 Memphians, 20 percent of the adult population of Memphis, elected the...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Oct 9, 2019 | City of Memphis Government, Shelby County government, Taxation
Memphis ranks high in the percentage of land that is not producing property taxes, and while the PILOT program is the easy one to blame, the proliferation of nonprofit...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Oct 7, 2019 | City of Memphis Government, Taxation
In Thursday’s election, Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland got what every mayor wants: not just a victory but a mandate. With his margin of victory, Mr. Strickland lapped former Mayor Willie W. Herenton who came in second, gaining...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Oct 3, 2019 | Economic Development
In the last post, we wrote about the threat of a coming crisis in workforce development, and as the Greater Memphis Chamber plans a “summit” on the issue, we are...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Oct 1, 2019 | Economic Development, Shelby County government
Reports suggest that our community is headed to a showdown about the lack of results by its workforce development programs. For decades, Memphis and Shelby County have...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Sep 27, 2019 | Uncategorized
It’s been a year since Greater Memphis Chamber president Phil Trenary was murdered as he walked from a Chamber event to his downtown home. We think of...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Sep 26, 2019 | Downtown Revitalization, Economic Development, Uncategorized
It is a regular part of media coverage and blog posts that someone will knock Memphis by talking about the cranes in Nashville. We have said over and over and over that no city in the Southeast can match the momentum of...
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, 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.