What Is Memphis’ Right Size?
Memphis and Shelby County leaders have received yet another wake-up call, and after more than 20...
Read Moreby Smart City Memphis | Apr 7, 2025 | City of Memphis Government, Planning and Urban Design, Population Loss, Rightsizing Memphis | 0
Memphis and Shelby County leaders have received yet another wake-up call, and after more than 20...
Read Moreby Smart City Memphis | Mar 27, 2025 | City of Memphis Government, Planning and Urban Design, Politics and Government, Shelby County government | 0
Thanks to the highly-respected Portland urbanist and economist Joe Cortright for republishing my...
Read Moreby Smart City Memphis | Mar 11, 2025 | City of Memphis Government, Planning and Urban Design | 0
A favorite economist and urban thinker is Joe Cortright whose wisdom is regularly posted to his...
Read Moreby Smart City Memphis | Jan 15, 2025 | City of Memphis Government, Downtown Revitalization, Economic Development, Planning and Urban Design, Politics and Government, Poverty, Taxation, Tennessee Legislature | 0
The following blog posts were the most read in 2024: 1) City Council’s New Salary-Setting Power...
Read Moreby Smart City Memphis | Sep 26, 2024 | Downtown Revitalization, Parks and Greening, Planning and Urban Design | 2
One of the prime benefits envisioned by Memphis River Parks Partnership with the transformed...
Read Moreby Smart City Memphis | Feb 15, 2024 | City of Memphis Government, Data Points, Planning and Urban Design | 3
I received two comments to last week’s blog post, Memphis Losing Population is Nothing New, that I...
Read Moreby Smart City Memphis | Feb 8, 2024 | City of Memphis Government, Planning and Urban Design | 2
Some business leaders recently expressed their concern about Memphis’ population loss. Better...
Read Moreby Smart City Memphis | Nov 15, 2023 | City of Memphis Government, Downtown Revitalization, Planning and Urban Design, Transportation | 0
What would you call City of Memphis’ new rules for Riverside Drive? A start. The City of Memphis...
Read Moreby Smart City Memphis | Aug 14, 2023 | City of Memphis Government, Downtown Revitalization, Economic Development, Livability, Planning and Urban Design | 0
We’re 19 days weeks away from an event I have dreamed of for 14 years, but that pales in...
Read Moreby Smart City Memphis | Jul 17, 2023 | Planning and Urban Design | 0
By John Branston Crime trumps everything when it hits close to home but there’s something...
Read Moreby Smart City Memphis | Jun 29, 2023 | City of Memphis Government, Downtown Revitalization, Leadership, Livability, Parks and Greening, Planning and Urban Design | 3
Memphis has a history of being late to the latest urbanist trends, and the presence of Riverside...
Read Moreby Smart City Memphis | Mar 23, 2023 | Livability, Planning and Urban Design, Uncategorized | 0
Anyone who ever met Tommy Pacello knows that the ULI award named in his honor is well-deserved and...
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.