Memphis Metropolis

Nick Oyler, bikeway and pedestrian program manager for the City of Memphis, makes a return visit to Memphis Metropolis to talk about pedestrian safety. This past week, Smart Growth America issued its Dangerous by Design 2021 study, which found that pedestrian deaths due to traffic accidents continue to increase nationally. Moreover, the study found that Memphis was the third most dangerous city for pedestrians, with pedestrian deaths up around 75 percent since 2019. In the show, Nick explains the connection between street design and pedestrian safety, why COVID and driver distraction have contributed to the rise in fatalities, and how dedicated funding for pedestrian infrastructure could help change the trajectory. And, why his team created a special map to help memorialize the lives of Memphis pedestrians that have been lost. 

Links

Dangerous by Design 2021

Bike-Ped Memphis

Memorial Map

The Edge district is known for its eclectic style, great old buildings, public art, and an unconventional street grid.  The neighborhood is home to restaurants, recording studios, artist and makers spaces, art galleries, a craft brewery, and more recently, corporate offices and residential units. This week, Ben Schulman, director of real estate for Memphis Medical District Collaborative, stops by to discuss how a combination of neighborhood history, pre-vitalization activities, support for emerging developers, and other strategies has contributed to a development boom that is transforming the area. Later in the show, urban designer and regular commentator Ray Brown reflects on The Edge's walkability and how its musical and automotive histories give the area a clear identity and are a magnet for visitors. 

Memphis Medical District Collaborative

Kathy Temple Yancey visits Memphis Metropolis to talk about Douglass, one of the city's most historic African American neighborhoods. Douglass is home to many important community institutions, including Douglass Park (longtime home of the annual Juneteenth festival) and Douglass HIgh, which was closed and demolished in the wake of school desegregation but has since been rebuilt as a state-of-the-art facility. Kathy also explains the work of Time is Now Douglass CDC, which is working to revitalize the neighborhood through community organizing and addressing issues such as blight and food insecurity. Later in the program, regular commentator Cole Bradley, editor of High Ground News, talks with Emily about the many qualities that have made Douglass unique among Memphis neighborhoods.

Amber Lombardo, recently appointed executive director of the Memphis Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, visits Memphis Metropolis to discuss AIA's mission, programs, and priorities, including the creation of a statewide tax credit for historic preservation. Later in the show, regular commentator Holly Jansen Fulkerson from Memphis Heritage elaborates on the need for additional preservation incentives and previews MHI's upcoming Preservation Series,  focusing on historic cemeteries. 

Additional Information

AIA Memphis

Memphis Heritage (check back for information about registering for the preservation series)

Sacred to the Memory - a portfolio of photos of abandoned and forgotten burial places in Shelby County. From University of Memphis professor Coriana Close.

Last fall, The City of Memphis and Innovate Memphis published The State of Memphis Housing: Rising to Respond to Crisis to call attention to affordable housing challenges facing our community and foster collaborations to craft and implement solutions. In this episode, Mairi Albertson from the Division of Housing and Community Development and Austin Harrison with Innovate Memphis visit Memphis Metropolis to reflect on the impact of COVID on housing stability, how supply is falling in different segments of the affordable housing market, and how local government and nonprofits are and could be responding. 

In the second half of the program, commentator Charlie Santo returns to talk about the history of government-sponsored affordable housing - both public housing and housing vouchers - and how recent federal government programs focusing on neighborhood revitalization have reduced the overall supply of public housing units. Charlie and Emily also tee up some future Memphis Metropolis topics, such as community land trusts, the current multifamily construction boom in Midtown and downtown, and various kinds of rent-to-own programs that often promise much more than they deliver to participants. 

Resource

State of Memphis Housing Report

This week, Andy Nix and Megan Klein from My City Rides discuss how the nonprofit is using affordable scooter ownership to help Memphians secure reliable transportation to work. Also: MCR's efforts to connect its "flyers" to food delivery opportunities during the pandemic and its upcoming move to a new campus on Summer Avenue. Later in the program, regular commentator Cole Bradley, editor of High Ground News, pays a visit to talk with Emily about expanding local transportation options and two new High Ground series. 

For more information

My City Rides

High Ground News

This week, Memphis Metropolis takes a deep dive into Tax Increment Financing (TIF) and in particular, a proposal to use the tool for the revitalization of South Memphis. Our guests are Reginald Milton, Shelby County Commissioner and executive director of South Memphis Alliance, and Andy Kitsinger, principal of Development Studio. The proposed TIF district is being spearheaded by the Soulsville USA Neighborhoods Development District, a broad community coalition made up of nonprofit organizations, neighborhood associations, faith leaders, and institutions. 

Later in the program, Charlie Santo pays a return visit to Memphis Metropolis to talk more about how TIFs work here and in other cities,  whether there can be too many TIFs, and what other tools can accomplish some of the same objectives. We also debate whether or not it is ever appropriate to utilize the tool in an affluent area, such as the recent (and controversial) TIF district established in East Memphis. 

Resources

Soulsville USA Neighborhood Development District

In our first field interview, Memphis Metropolis visits Seth Harkins of the Alcy Ball Development Corporation to learn about Alcy Ball, a South Memphis neighborhood northwest of the airport with a long history of African American homeownership and a strong sense of community. ABDC's most recent project is the Rogers Store, a long-time corner store that has been transformed into a community gathering place. 

Later in the show, Cole Bradley from High Ground News returns to brainstorm with Emily about future Neighborhood Spotlight locations and talk about High Ground's "Still Serving" series of videos highlighting Memphis restaurants operating in the pandemic. 

Links

Alcy Ball Development Corp. web site

Alcy Ball Development Corp. on Facebook

Still Serving video: Paletas in the pandemic with La Michoacana

Still Serving video: Take a pandemic-safe trip to Venezuela with Sabor Caribe

Retail expert Shawn Massey, principal of TSCG, visits Memphis Metropolis to discuss why it is so difficult to attract grocery stores to a low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. From Binghampton to South City,  community partners have come together in various efforts to bring food retailers to underserved areas.  For projects to be successful, funding incentives are often needed, and neighborhood commitment and involvement (on the part of both residents and operators) are critically important. 

In the second half of the program, commentator Charlie Santo and Emily discuss the importance of better transit in addressing food insecurity, the need to support and incentivize grocers without letting them off the hook,  and how nonprofit models like The Works' Grocer at South Memphis Farmers Market and Knowledgequest's Greenleaf Learning Farm are making a difference in meeting neighborhood nutrition needs.

John Zeanah, director of the Memphis and Shelby County Division of Planning and Development, visits Memphis Metropolis to reflect on the year since the city's first comprehensive plan in decades was adopted, and to solicit citizen input on some proposed 3.0 updates. Emily and John also discuss the launch of the Develop901 web site, which offers developers and other stakeholders easier access to information and resources. 

Develop901

Memphis 3.0 Comprehensive Plan (general site)

Proposed updates to the 3.0 Plan

Form for submitting comments about the updates