Aiming Higher, Thinking Bolder For A Better Economic Future
The Memphis region was in the last group of cities to recover from the impact of the Great Recession – returning to the 2007 levels in key economic indicators in the...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Nov 2, 2018 | Economic Development
The Memphis region was in the last group of cities to recover from the impact of the Great Recession – returning to the 2007 levels in key economic indicators in the...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Oct 31, 2018 | Economic Development, Uncategorized
A version of this post was published in the August/September issue of Inside Memphis Business. It is often the case that important discussions on critical issues break down around...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Oct 29, 2018 | Leadership
We all know about trickle down economics and its failings, but these days, trickle down politics is just as damaging. It’s the brand of campaigning that infects our...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Oct 25, 2018 | Economic Development, Poverty
A central part of Memphis’ bicentennial celebration should be about celebrating its heritage as an African American city. We don’t just mean that in the sense that African...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Oct 22, 2018 | City of Memphis Government, Downtown Revitalization, Economic Development, Livability, Parks and Greening, Planning and Urban Design
Memphis is moving inexorably toward its bicentennial next year, and here’s hoping that despite the impulse to brag about new construction and future projects that we...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Oct 19, 2018 | Uncategorized
Because of the widespread interest in the proposal for nuclear energy being considered by MLGW, as demonstrated in the dozens of comments on our post about this subject, we’re posting the...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Oct 17, 2018 | Economic Development, Planning and Urban Design, Transportation
DeSoto County’s last segment of I-269 opens in nine days and the predictions are now fulfilled: it is a more than $1 billion gift for sprawl and developers that does nothing so much for Memphis except hardening economic...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Oct 15, 2018 | City of Memphis Government, Politics and Government
I answer the ringing phone and the caller says she is calling on behalf of a professional polling company. After she gets information about my partisan preferences and my...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Oct 12, 2018 | Livability, Planning and Urban Design
This is the text of a speech delivered in Detroit to the Congress for New Urbanism conference by Carol Coletta, a senior fellow at the Kresge Foundation’s American Cities Practice. It is reprinted from City Observatory. Could...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Oct 11, 2018 | Education
By Jimmie Covington It seems like it would be a simple thing to understand but the top elected officials in Shelby County, the general public and the news media have not...
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.