Causes of Gentrification – From A to Z
Note: This graphic is not from City Observatory. Joe Cortright is President and principal economist of Impresa, a consulting firm specializing in...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | May 15, 2019 | Planning and Urban Design, Poverty
Note: This graphic is not from City Observatory. Joe Cortright is President and principal economist of Impresa, a consulting firm specializing in...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | May 13, 2019 | City of Memphis Government, Downtown Revitalization, Economic Development, Livability, Parks and Greening, Planning and Urban Design
After reviewing the 20 riverfront plans issued since 1987, prominent city planner, urban designer, and author Jeff Speck said it best: “The potentially easiest win on the...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | May 10, 2019 | Uncategorized
This post is written by Jimmie Covington, veteran Memphis reporter with lengthy experience covering governmental, school, and demographic...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | May 8, 2019 | Data Points, Regionalism
Contrary to the perceptions held by many, the Memphis region has a simple government structure, and that is particularly true in Shelby County. While...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | May 6, 2019 | City of Memphis Government, Shelby County government, Transportation
There is unprecedented broad support for the proposition that it is vital for Memphis to have higher quality public transit. The challenge is...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | May 3, 2019 | City of Memphis Government, Planning and Urban Design
The foundation on which Memphis 3.0, the first comprehensive plan for the city in more than 40 years, is built is data. The following are some data points from the...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Apr 29, 2019 | Economic Development, Poverty
The Memphis Bicentennial has one of those marketing hooks – A New Century of Soul – that is more suggestive than precise, more open to interpretation than...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Apr 25, 2019 | City of Memphis Government, Economic Development, Neighborhoods, Shelby County government
Finally, something good came out of Graceland’s ham-handed and inept approach to negotiating with City Hall – Memphis’ first Community Benefits Agreement. While it’s...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Apr 22, 2019 | City of Memphis Government, Downtown Revitalization, Livability, Parks and Greening, Tennessee Legislature
It was good news last week when Governor Bill Lee’s proposed budget included funding to support the transformation of Tennessee’s western gateway but...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Apr 19, 2019 | Data Points, Economic Development
The Milken Institute’s Best-Performing Cities index is an objective look at the factors of successful economic growth using outcomes-based metrics such as job...
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.