Memphis Metropolis

Overton Park Conservancy executive director Tina Sullivan discusses OPC's master planning process, which is currently focused on the east side of the park.  Key issues the plan is addressing include creating a vision for the park's expansion into the 13-acre tract at the park’s southeast corner currently known as the General Services, as well as taking a fresh look at the Bike Gate plaza and the East Parkway playground, pavilion, and picnic areas -- better connecting these assets with each other and with the western part of the park. 

In the second half of the program, Holly Jansen Fulkerson from Memphis Heritage returns to Memphis Metropolis to discuss the era of segregated public parks, the development of historic Church and Douglass Parks to serve African Americans, and the renaming of Memphis parks over the years. 

Resources

Overton Park Conservancy

Overton Park Planning Effort – Zone 1

Memphis Heritage

Overton Park: A People's History - By Brooks Lamb

Britney Thornton from Juice Orange Mound joins Memphis Metropolis to discuss the organization's origins and its recent growth, including the build out of its Street Assembly and the creation of a new program focused on entrepreneurs that are single mothers. With redevelopment occurring or planned Orange Mound's borders, The Keep Your Land billboard campaign encourages residents to maintain ownership of their property, in order to  build their assets and help maintain neighborhood control of land. 

Later, High Ground News editor Cole Bradley visits the show to talk more about Orange Mound and reflect on how COVID has impacted Memphis neighborhoods in 2020. 

Resources

Juice Orange Mound web site

Juice Orange Mound on Facebook

In the first of a series of Neighborhood Spotlights, Jared Myers from the The Heights CDC visits Memphis Metropolis to talk all about The Heights neighborhood - the places and the people. From Randolph Library to neighborhood schools to international food restaurants and market, The Heights  is rich in assets and has a strong sense of community. Jared and Emily discuss two current CDC-led initiatives, including The Heights Line - an active transportation route along National Street and a proposed small area plan for a portion of Summer Avenue.

Later in the show, Ray and Emily reflect on challenges of managing neighborhood change in a way that benefits current residents, revisit the topic of how design standards for neighborhoods could help increase community support for more infill and density, and mourn the recent loss of architect Marty Gorman.

Resources and Information 

Heights Line

Heights CDC

Webb Brewer and Constance Brown from Neighborhood Preservation, Inc. discuss an innovative Memphis and Shelby  County program that helps both tenants and landlords avoid evictions caused by COVID. Later in the show, commentator Charlie Santo from University of Memphis returns to discuss some of the historical causes and impacts of evictions in Memphis. Emily and Charlie also reflect on the legacy of Tommy Pacello, a transformative community development leader who died in November. 

Resources

Information about applying for the eviction program

Form to declare COVID-19 related financial distress

Jennifer Amido from Crosstown and Suzy Askew from Vollintine Evergreen (VECA) talk about their respective neighborhood's special characteristics and their efforts to be designated as local landmark districts.  Later in the program, Holly Jansen Fulkerson from Memphis Heritage explains the differences between local and national historic district designations and the protections they do (or don't) provide, 

Resources:

VECA's application to be a Historic Conservation District

Map of landmark districts in Memphis

Application to create a new historic district in Memphis

Memphis Heritage

Antoine Thompson, national executive director of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB), and Amy Shaftlein, executive director of United Housing,  visit Memphis Metropolis to talk about the impacts of discrimination and public policy on black homeownership, and how strategies like down payment assistance and updated credit criteria can help.  Later in the program, commentator Cole Bradley and Emily talk about the impact of this disparity on Memphis neighborhoods,  the high percentage of homes owned by outside investors, and how neighborhoods like Orange Mound and Klondike Smokey City are working to take back control of their land and increase homeownership. 

Resources

National Association of Real Estate Brokers

The State of Housing in Black America

The State of Memphis Housing 2020: Rising to Respond to Crisis

United Housing - homebuyer education, down payment assistance, affordable loans

In her decade in Memphis working with Innovate Memphis,  and (currently), the Memphis Medical District Collaborative (MMDC), Abby Miller -with her colleagues and collaborators - has helped pioneer a number of innovations designed to spur neighborhood economic vitality and reduce the barriers for emerging creative businesses. Abby visits Memphis Metropolis to reflect on how small-scale strategies such as pop-up shops, facade beautification,  and pedestrian improvements can help unlock the "lovabilty" and economic potential of a street or neighborhood.  Later in the program,  Emily and commentator Charlie Santo talk about the efforts of the MMDC and whether similar so-called "anchor strategies" (based around one or more institutions) could be deployed in the University District, as well. 

Anna Holtzclaw from Urban Land Institute (ULI) and Alex Willis from Comcap Partners join Memphis Metropolis to discuss ULI's recent 21-day Equitable Development Challenge,  an opportunity for member and non-members to spend time both personally reflecting and in group discussions to identify real actions they can take individually, at their organizations, and as a community to address the inequities in the real estate industry. 

Later in the program,  commentator (and explainer extraordinaire) Ray Brown discuss the Unified Development Code (UDC) for Memphis and Shelby  County and some proposed amendments that if adopted, could potentially reduce citizen input in planning decisions and lead to an increase in so-called "tall skinnies" in the Midtown area.  If you need a primer on the UDC as well as the difference between the Land Use Control Board and the Board of Adjustment, this is a discussion you won't want to miss. 

Useful links:

Event: ULI Memphis Building a City We Can All Afford - Session Four: Solutions for Memphis

Information about proposed changes to the Unified Development Code

A.M. O'Malley from Urban Art Commission visits Memphis Metropolis to discuss the organization's Neighborhood Art Initiative and a new project celebrating postal workers.  Later in the show,  commentator Cole  Bradley and Emily talk about increasing resident influence on how neighborhood places are shaped,  including parks, public art, and more. 

John Paul Shaffer from PeopleForBikes and Nick Oyler from the City of Memphis join us to talk about how Memphis has gone from 2 to 300 miles of off- and on-road bicycle facilities over a decade; which projects have been truly transformative, such as Shelby Farms Greenway and the Harahan Bridge Crossing; and how an intentional focus on equity and neighborhood-based programming has helped more Memphians get on bikes for recreation and transportation. 

Later in the program, regular commentator Charlie Santo reflects on moving from transportation mecca Portland, OR to Memphis and trying to navigate the local system.  Charlie and Emily also talk about how bike infrastructure and related improvements like traffic calming can potentially help increase access to public spaces such as Tom Lee Park and Riverside Park. 

Additional resources

https://bikepedmemphis.wordpress.com/

https://peopleforbikes.org/