Memphis Metropolis

Commercial Appeal real estate reporter Neil Streibig joins Emily to talk about recent and proposed urban redevelopment projects, both large and small.

The Core Transit Management Association (TMA) is a coalition of organizations focused on improving commute options in and around downtown and the Medical District. In this program, Lauren Bermudez from the Downtown Memphis Commissions discusses many of the tools and programs available to residents and businesses, including bike share, the Groove Shuttle, and new parking facilities and strategies.

Friends for All executive director Diane Cuke and Chooch Pickard, architect at A2H, discuss FFA's new home in the Evergreen neighborhood and the organization's new name and expanded programs and services.

The Memphis and Shelby County Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) works to revitalize target neighborhoods -including Uptown, Binghampton, and others - through affordable housing and blight remediation programs that are supported by tax-increment financing (TIF) funds. In this program, president Andrew Murray discusses CRA's recently expanded geography and explains how citizen-led neighborhood planning is a key determinant in where and how the organization invests.

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Memphis and Shelby County Community Redevelopment Agency

In this episode, we welcome Dr. Nicole Gates from the Frayser Connect Center. Frayser Connect is an initiative of Frayser Community Development Corp. Together with Epicenter, RISE Foundation, and other patners, Frayser Connect is working to empower Frayser entrepreneurs and residents through a retrofitted church off North Watkins Street.

For more information, visit the Frayser Connect website and sign up for the monthly newsletter.

In this show, we welcome guest Vance Lauderdale, the eccentric scion of the Lauderdale family and author of the widely-read Ask Vance column in Memphis Magazine. Vance explains more about his family's checkered history; talks about some of his favorite columns and places; and shares some stories about ghosts, a castle in the Alcy Ball neighborhood, and getting lost in the stairwell of the Sterick building.

Tucked away in an industrial neighborhood of Binghampton, the Binghampton Development Corp. (BDC)'s Business Hub is quietly undertaking some of the city's most innovative recycling programs while at the same time offering employment opportunities for workers looking for work in an environment that provides both training and support. Business Hub director Andy Kizzee and employment development manager Antwoine Clark recently talked to Memphis Metropolis about their facility and the programs and services they provide.

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BDC Business Hub

While the Bickford Bearwater area in North Memphis may not be as well known as its southern neighbor Uptown, it is bustling with families, school children, and seniors. For the past two decades, Oasis of Hope CDC has been working to strengthen the community through after-school programs, recreation, affordable housing, and more. In this show, executive director Joy Marseille and marketing and community engagement manager Kacie Long discuss the neighborhood and how residents are shaping its future through a renewed emphasis on community engagement and participation.

For more information, visit the Oasis of Hope website.

Jackson McNeil, a longtime friend of Memphis Metropolis, recently joined Innovate Memphis as Director of Transportation and Mobility, overseeing the Commute Options program. In this show, we discuss the hard work of (and many obstacles to) getting Memphians out of their cars and onto alternate modes of transportation. Jackson and Emily also discuss the recently published Safe Speed Index, which ranks cities on the average vehicle speeds on streets used by pedestrians.

When Junior Achievement of Memphis moved its headquarters from downtown to Binghampton, it gained new partners and a visible new location but faced challenges converting a former grocery store into the flexible and child-friendly facility they needed. JA president and CEO Leigh Mansberg visits Memphis Metropolis along with Veronica Tansey, project manager and interior designer at Fleming Architects, to discuss the project.