Author: Smart City Memphis

Well, if nothing else, we’re consistent. When faced with how to sell Memphis to a group of International Paper Company executives accustomed to the high quality of life that their current Stamford, Connecticut, headquarters gets...

As a late but satisfied reader of Erik Larson’s “The Devil in the White City” about the great Chicago World’s Fair, I came across the following passage this morning…”The exposition promised to...

The chairman of the Memphis and Shelby County Airport Authority is quoted in the Memphis Flyer as saying that Memphis without FedEx is Shreveport. Well, music heritage, an MSA twice as large, a more vibrant business base and...

In the end, the Edgar Ray Killen verdict was nothing if not a case of justice delayed, justice denied. Four decades passed before he was finally convicted of his lead role in the hate-filled murders of three heroic civil rights...

“Greenprints,” as Will Rogers of the Trust for Public Land said on Smart City, is a smart growth strategy emphasizing land conservation to improve quality of life, clean air and water, offer more recreational opportunities,...

Maybe the Sons of the Confederacy are right. Taking the names of their heroes off Memphis parks is rewriting history. Instead of rewriting history, maybe we just need to write it right.To do this, there is already precedent for...

Sometimes, listening to the defenders of our Confederate-named parks, you get the feeling that the future of Western civilization itself is at stake. It’s as if Memphis was a bastion of Southern gentility like Richmond or...

When it comes to term limits, we suggested earlier this month (see July 8 blog) that city and county boards and commissions – where members have served for as long as 25 years – should be included. Based on the performance...

I did something today that I’ve never done before in my 35 years of working downtown. I felt “cool.”About 2:30 this afternoon, fighting a losing battle with a big-time case of writer’s block, I grabbed up...

Dear N.W.A.:It’s not you. It’s me. I thought I would never have to write this letter, but I’ve changed. My needs are different, and although I thought I could deal with it, I can’t. You were there when I needed you, but over the...