Waking Up A Sleeping Giant With A Downtown Parking Plan
Cities across the U.S. have been undergoing a parking revolution for years and it has finally reached downtown Memphis where it is receiving the careful...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jul 8, 2019 | Downtown Revitalization, Economic Development, Livability, Planning and Urban Design
Cities across the U.S. have been undergoing a parking revolution for years and it has finally reached downtown Memphis where it is receiving the careful...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jul 5, 2019 | Data Points
County Migration Rates = The number of people moving into and out of counties 2018 Census Bureau estimates for 12-months ending July 2018 + 9,136 – Wake County (Raleigh) + 4,915 –...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jul 1, 2019 | City of Memphis Government, Downtown Revitalization, Livability, Parks and Greening
It’s no secret that I’ve been a fervent supporter for turning Tom Lee Park from a pasture into a signature park. As the debate unfolded, we’ve received some...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jun 28, 2019 | Uncategorized
Unemployment Rate 2.1 % – Nashville metro 2.6 % – Oklahoma City metro 2.6 % – Richmond metro 2.8 % – Indianapolis metro 2.9 % – Cincinnati metro 3.0 %...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jun 26, 2019 | Civil Rights
In light of the killing of Brandon Webber in Frayser, we reprise this post from November 9, 2015: For as long as we can remember, our community has been...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jun 24, 2019 | Criminal Justice, Poverty
When 20-year-old Brandon Webber was killed by U.S. Marshals June 11, the emotional aftermath tapped into so many lingering concerns – the...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jun 21, 2019 | Economic Development, Uncategorized
Renthop has analyzed metro occupational data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to help answer the questions: where should recent graduates go to make the most money? The...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jun 19, 2019 | City of Memphis Government, Neighborhoods, Shelby County government
By Joe Cortright The case for using tax increment financing for affordable housing in gentrifying neighborhoods The problem with gentrification is that rising property values may make it expensive or impossible for lower and...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jun 17, 2019 | Downtown Revitalization, Economic Development, Livability
There are a barrage of questions these days aimed at the Memphis River Parks Partnership related to the design of Tom Lee Park, but more and more, another set of...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jun 14, 2019 | City of Memphis Government, Downtown Revitalization, Parks and Greening
In light of the discussion about the future of Tom Lee Park, we are reposting a commentary from July 24, 2017, saluting Mayor Strickland...
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.