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.

For more information

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.

A city's ParkScore is a measure of how it compares to other places, using criteria such as access, acreage, equity, and investments. The ParkScore Index is prepared annually by the Trust for Public Land, a people-focused parks and public land advocacy organization. In this show, Noel Durant of the TPL's Tennessee office visits Memphis Metropolis to talk about why ParkScores are so important and how Memphis ranked in their recent study. Memphis park advocates JoAnn Street also joins the conversation to provide a local perspective. JoAnn is the founder of HUG Park Friends, a support organization for three North Memphis parks, Hollywood, University, and Gooch.

For more information

Trust for Public Land

HUG Park Friends

Sabrina Norwood, executive director of Young Actors Guild, visits Memphis Metropolis to talk about their organization's first permanent home, their commitment to arts access at the neighborhood level, and alumni who have gone on to perform on Broadway and in Hollywood.

More information about Young Actors Guild

Shelby County's Environmental Court - one of the first in the country to be established - plays an important role in addressing the issue of blight in Memphis. In this program, Judge Patrick Dandridge explains how cases make it into court and the combination and carrots and sticks that are available to compel property owners to fix up their property. Judge Dandridge and Emily also discuss the resources available to assist low-income homeowners and his plan to establish an Environmental Court foundation to increase those resources.

Nick Oyler has spent the last several years working in and with the community to improve the city's active transportation systems, first with the Memphis Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) and most recently as bike and pedestrian program manager for the City of Memphis. Nick is leaving Memphis to pursue new professional opportunities in Denver, and we asked him to return to Memphis Metropolis one last time to reflect on the successes, frustrations, and opportunities he has experienced during his tenure here.

Memphis may have been the cleanest city in the US at one point, but most of us can't remember a time when there wasn't too much litter. Memphis Metropolis invited Janet Boscarino from Clean Memphis to visit the program, to discuss why litter is so bad, what works and doesn't work in terms of prevention and mitigation, and more.

Want to get involved in tackling litter? Visit the Clean Memphis website for resources and information.

This week we welcome Jana Wilson of the Arkwings Foundation to Memphis Metropolis. Located just off James Road in the Frayser neighborhood, Arkwings is a historic home turned arts and culture center -focused specifically on mind, body, and spirit wellness. In the program, shares the history of the home as well its current features, which include a multi-faceted art garden. 

Visit the Arkwings Facebook page for more information. 

Mary Helen Butler, assistant director of the Memphis Botanic Garden, visits the program to talk about the Botanic Garden's origin story, which begins with a gift of irises to the city and continues through today, with multiple gardens and structures and a year-round calendar of events and programming. 

For more information

Memphis Botanic Garden 

Hyde Park is a small neighborhood in North Memphis, one of several off Chelsea Avenue. Like many urban neighborhoods, it was once a thriving area of homeowners and commercial districts, where residents had a sense of pride and community. But for the past several decades it has experienced a lack of investment and a declining population. Today, a grassroots organization called Hyde Park Matters is working determinedly to rejuvenate the neighborhood through community building, blight and litter eradication, and by building close working relationships with local government. Fred Robinson's family has long ties to the community and Rev. Melvin Lee has pastored Macedonia M.B. Church there for many years. Together they visited Memphis Metropolis to talk about the Hyde Park neighborhood and the organization they founded to help it regain its prosperity. 

When a property is chronically blighted, there aren't any easy solutions. Remedies need to be balanced between the needs of surrounding neighbors and those of the property owners. And many times, owners can't be located at all or don't have the resources or ability to fix the property up. That's when government, nonprofits, and other partners need to get creative. 

In this show, attorney Vincent Sawyer from The Works CDC visits Memphis Metropolis to explain the entities, processes, and legal tools - such as receivership - that often come into play in bringing blighted properties back into useful life. 

More information

The Works CDC

Pedestrian deaths in Memphis are at an all-time high and the city is one of the most dangerous in the U.S. for people who get around on foot. But while driver behavior and poor street design are the primary contributors to the problem, pedestrians themselves - the victims - are often blamed. Nick Oyler, Bikeway and Pedestrian Program Manager in the city's engineering department, pays a return visit to Memphis Metropolis to discuss what the law actually says about where pedestrians can and cannot cross the street, why pedestrian behavior that seems illogical often is quite rational, and how "windshield bias" - seeing the problem exclusively from the driver perspective - is inhibiting the development of solutions. 

Jason Farmer, founder and CEO of BLP Film Studios, visits Memphis Metropolis to talk about the 100-acre film production facility the company is developing in Whitehaven. 

The Henry Turley Company has been at the forefront of enlightened neighborhood development and redevelopment for decades, including developing Harbor Town - which became a national model, partnering with the city and others on redeveloping the Uptown area, and most recently, adding a mixed-use community, Orleans Station, to the Medical District. 

 In this program, company CEO Alex Turley visits Memphis Metropolis for a wide-ranging conversation about the recent surge in development in the city's core and the need for community partnerships that support redevelopment but avoid the levels of displacement and gentrification that other cities have seen in recent years. 

Andre Jones of Jones Urban Development joins Memphis Metropolis this week to talk about so-called "missing middle" housing,  the duplexes, quads, and small apartment buildings that fill our older neighborhoods but haven't been developed in newer neighborhoods. Jones and his company are bringing missing middle housing back, starting in the Uptown neighborhood. In this show, he discusses his Malone Park Commons project - a cottage community - and talks about the challenges he has confronted in its development. 

In this show, Memphis Metropolis does a deep dive into state preemption,  or when state legislatures use their authorities to preempt or essentially override local control of issues as wide-ranging as gun violence, blight remediation, and whether or not Confederate statues can be removed. 

Guests Dr. Megan Hatch from Cleveland State University and Dr. Austin Harrison from Rhodes College are our guests, discussing the impact of state preemptions on affordable housing development both locally and around the country. 

Get more information about the State of Memphis Housing Summit 2022 here.

Shopping centers, offices, and residential neighborhoods often come to mind when many people think about the real estate business. But industrial real estate - where the region's warehouses and distribution centers are located - dwarfs those other sectors locally. Commercial Advisor's Kemp Conrad joins Memphis Metropolis to explain the geographic and transportation factors that drove industrial real estate's growth, how the Blue Oval City development will impact the sector, and how recent economic trends - such as interest rate increases - may temporarily slow new development even though demand remains high. 

Outside of his day job in the planning and legal professions, fans of the built environment and its history know him as the creator of the Creme de Memph blog. Creme de Memph first came to life when Josh discovered a trove of historical planning documents - zoning cases, maps, renderings, photos, etc. - in the basement of Memphis' city hall. Years later, the blog has covered sidewalk curb cuts, street configurations that make no sense, historical signs, buildings that are long gone, and others that were designed but never built. 

In this episode, we talk to Josh about his Lost Memphis series on the blog, and in particular about two buildings that once stood in the neighborhood where Crump becomes Lamar - VA Hospital #88 and the Memphis Furniture Manufacturing Company. 

The Lynching Sites Project works to illuminate the truth about lynchings in Shelby County, foster community conversations about the history of racial violence in the community, and create a new legacy of racial equality and justice. In this program, LSP board members Richard Watkins and Kelsey Lamkin explain the organization's goals and programs generally and also discuss their current efforts to add the site of Ell Persons' lynching to the National Register of Historic Places. Ell Persons was lynched in 1917 near what is now Summer Avenue, after being accused of killing a white girl. 

The Lynching Sites Project is hosting a symposium - Turning the Light of Truth: The Lynching of Ell Persons - on Saturday, October 15. More information is available here. 

Additional Resources

The Lynching Sites Project website

The Red Record Podcast

Memphis' new Hospitality Hub is literally breaking new ground in how unhoused Memphians are welcomed and assisted. With an expanded array of services available, the Hub Hotel for women and their families, open space, and other amenities, the Hub has created a calm and accessible campus where people can be helped along their journey to becoming housed. Terry Conley, case counselor at the Hub, and Ellen Roberds from Dragonfly Collective visit Memphis Metropolis to talk about the new facility and how the Hub team approaches the work with a focus on developing solutions to the many challenges faced by their clients and guests.

Visit the Hospital Hub website for more information. 

The Memphis chapter of the NAACP is one of the national organization's oldest and most important. The chapter has been in several locations since its founding more than 100 years ago but has remained rooted in the neighborhood now known as South City, which is home to many important local sites in local Black history, including Clayborn Temple and the Universal Life building. For the past 40 years or so, the NAACP has been located at 588 Vance Avenue, in a building that has its own history, including housing an early Black-owned bank branch as well as Benjamin Hook's law offices. 

The NAACP building recently had a significant facelift and also is undergoing inside renovations to allow it to better serve its members, as well as provide office space for small businesses and nonprofits. In this program, longtime NAACP leaders Deidre Malone and Felica Harris discuss the chapter's illustrious history and the importance of the 588 Vance building and the surrounding neighborhood to Memphis Black history and culture. 

Later in the program, regular commentator Cole Bradley returns to talk with Emily about the connection between physical spaces and the history and stories we remember. 

Additional information

NAACP Memphis

Memphis Heritage Trail Walking Tours and Maps of Important Historic Sites

Whitehaven, one of the largest Memphis neighborhoods, is experiencing positive change and renewal after years of disinvestment. In this program, Jason Sharif, founder of the Respect The Haven advocacy group, talks about growing up in Whitehaven and the ways that his organization is working to build economic, social, and political capital in the community. 

Visit the Respect The Haven Facebook page to learn more and support the organization.

When Community LIFT (Leveraging Investments for Transformation) was formed in 2011, funding for community development was scarce despite great needs at the neighborhood level. While there have been many positive changes during that time - including more public and private sector investment in neighborhoods and many success stories - there are still many needs and opportunities. In this program, recently appointed LIFT CEO Luther Mercer visits Memphis Metropolis to talk about the grants and programs the organization provides to neighborhood developers, as well as the small business loans and assistance available from its subsidiary, River City Capital. 

Visit the websites of Community LIFT and River City Capital to learn more. 

An unassuming residential building in the Walker Homes neighborhood has been added to the National Register of Historic Places. The Ernest C. Withers House, at 480 W. Brooks Road, was the family home of the renowned Memphis photographer and also served as his photography studio during important periods of his career. Withers, who lived from 1922 until 2007, is recognized internationally for his work. He documented many of the most significant events in civil rights history—including the Memphis Sanitation Workers’ Strike—as well as capturing the Black experience in Memphis and the South more broadly. In this show, Withers' son Rome and historic preservationist Kelsey Lamkin discuss what's important about the Withers home and why achieving a National Register listing is an important acknowledgment of its historic significance. 

Additional Information

Withers House Museum

Historic Withers home on its way to national landmark status

The area around Madison and Avalon is and has been home to important Midtown institutions such as Murphy's Bar, Pho Binh restaurant, the Cash Saver grocery store, and the long-gone but fondly remembered Antenna club. But because that part of Midtown is in between revitalizing areas such as Overton Square and the Medical District, it hasn't been the recipient of much if any streetscape improvements. 

In this episode, Emily Bishop and Karen Lebovitz discuss the efforts of MidtownMemphis.org to beautify the area through landscaping in the hopes that the visibility and advocacy will bring additional investment to the area, particularly those that will improve the pedestrian experience. 

For more information, visit the MidtownMemphis.org website. 

Rusty Bloodworth has been quietly influential in the development of the Memphis region for many years. Earlier in 2022, Rusty celebrated 54 years with Boyle, a leading real estate company known for nearly a century of visible projects from Belvedere Avenue - developed by a predecessor company and often called the most beautiful street in Memphis; to Ridgeway Center, one of the country's first mixed-use developments; to most recently, Schilling Farms in Collierville. The firm also has a large Nashville-based practice.

In 2007, Rusty teamed up with other real estate leaders to create a local chapter of the Urban Land Institute, an international organization focused on urban planning, growth, and development.

In this discussion, Rusty reflects on how land use and real estate trends have come and gone over his career, and how he and Boyle's philosophy on development have changed over his career, with much more emphasis in newer projects on a mix of uses, walkability, and the incorporation of green space. 

Jamal Boddie's career has been diverse, taking him from positions at USC basketball operations and White Station High School athletics to the Library System and the Memphis Grizzlies. That broad experience in community engagement and program management made him a great candidate for his current position as executive director of local nonprofit Bloom. Bloom is an organization focused on helping resident groups organize and engage around their neighborhood parks. In this interview, Jamal visits Memphis Metropolis to talk about some current "park friends" groups around town and Bloom's plans to grow that network through support, partnerships, and capacity building. 

For more information, visit the Bloom website. 

Marvin Stockwell has worn many hats, including medical PR specialist, musician, podcaster, author, and advocate. In the latter role, he has played a leading role in the formation of the Coliseum Coalition, which is dedicated to the preservation and redevelopment of the MidSouth Coliseum. Many would consider the Coliseum a lost cause...after all, it had been mothballed and the city had announced its intention to tear it down. That got Marvin thinking: "What makes us take up causes that others think are impossible?"

In this program, Marvin and Emily dig into what makes champions tick, and talk specifically about buildings and places where local advocates have made a difference in preserving them, from the Coliseum and Crosstown to smaller places like the Luciann Theater and Griggs Business College. 

More listening

Champions of the Lost Causes website - for Marvin's free e-book and episodes of his podcast.

Past Memphis Metropolis episodes on champions of the built environment

How Small Grassroots Action Can Ignite Transformational Neighborhood Change.

William Townsend Loves Old Buildings

Endangered Places: Griggs Business College Gets a New Life.

Endangered Structures: Mid-South Coliseum.

Memphis-based photographer Brandon Dill has had a wide-ranging career, covering subjects ranging from the Memphis Grizzlies to the Byhalia Pipeline through his freelance work with the Commercial Appeal, Associated Press, MLK50, New York Times, Washington Post, and many other clients. In this discussion, Brandon and Emily dive into his photography of special places in Memphis - including iconic buildings such as Crosstown and the Coliseum, and neighborhoods like Orange Mound - as well as the role of photography in advocacy and the importance of engaging residents in the work. 

Visit Brandon's website to see his portfolio of work. 

When Derravia and Bobby Rich were growing up in or near the Castalia neighborhood of South Memphis, neither could foresee they would team up for marriage and the creation of a very special urban farm in Uptown. Black Seeds Urban Farms - located at 580 North Fourth Street - is a farm garden where a wide variety of herbs and vegetables are grown and shared with the community; an oasis for tranquility and contemplation; and a fun space for special events and group gatherings. 

In this episode, Derravia and Bobby join Emily for a wide-ranging discussion about family ties, food access, entrepreneurship, and their vision for similar places in other neighborhoods. 

More information

Black Seeds Urban Farms

Josh Whitehead recently left a long career in public sector planning - working in both Germantown and Shelby County. During his tenure in Memphis and Shelby County, Josh led the long-overdue overhaul of the local development codes and also was involved in the Memphis 3.0 comprehensive plan. In this discussion, Josh reminisces about childhood experiences that fostered an early interest in urban planning and discussed highlights of his career in government. He and Emily also get into the weeds about our community's addiction to conditional zoning. Finally, Josh explains the origins of Creme de Memph, his quirky and informative blog about all aspects of the local built environment. 

Visit Creme de Memph

In this program, host Emily Trenholm travels down memory lane with Sarah Newstok, a former colleague at LIvable Memphis. Emily and Sarah talk about how grassroots action helped ignite a new era of bike infrastructure in Memphis, including the then-controversial Madison Avenue bike lanes; the New Face for An Old Broad event that kicked off the redevelopment of the Broad Avenue district, and a wave of other similar MemFix events; and how both movements linked up for the development of the innovative Hampline, which connects Overton Park to the Shelby Farms Greenline. 

Northside HIgh School - opened in 1968 - was the jewel of the Klondike neighborhood, surrounded by other important institutions such as Klondike Elementary, the North Branch Library, Katie Sexton Community Center, and Klondike Park. Northside closed in 2016 due to declining enrollment and has been vacant since then. But now, the former school building is being turned into a community hub, including affordable housing, job training, health services, art activities, and more. In this program, we welcome Roshun Austin of the Works CDC to explain the community-led vision for the new space and how her organization is partnering with residents, alumni, and other stakeholders to bring that vision to reality.

In late March, Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) announced that it was testing a new kind of trolley car on the Madison line, in hopes of restoring service to that and the Riverfront loop. John Lancaster and Joel Cox from MATA visited Memphis Metropolis to talk about what's different about the new cars (for one, they are air-conditioned!) and how the recent redevelopment of the Medical District may attract a new type of rider. Later in the show, regular commentator and University of Memphis professor Charlie Santo joins Emily to reflect on the extensive streetcar system Memphis once enjoyed and why it and similar systems around the U.S. disappeared in the first place.

Additional Resources

Testing underway for Madison Ave. trolley service - from The Daily Memphian

MATA web site

Memphis Street Railway Map (1913)

The Very Best Songs About Mass Transit (from Citylab)

Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), a national community development funding intermediary, recently began working in Memphis. Longtime community development leader Kathy Cowan is heading up that effort, and she visits the program this week to discuss her career accomplishments and which programs and partnerships are kicking off the LISC work in Memphis.

More information

LISC web site

Memphis Metropolis welcomes Caroline Carrico from Storyboard Memphis to the show, to discuss her recent article about the important role Gayoso Bayou played in Memphis history, and a little-known adjacent settlement called Catfish Bay. Later in the program, regular commentator Charlie Santo and Emily veer off into a wide-ranging discussion about the role infrastructure plays in urban development and Memphis' role as an innovator in the development of sanitary sewer technology. 

Learn More

Gayoso Bayou and Catfish Bay: Where are They Now?

How Memphis Found Its Water

Over the past two years, William Townsend of Townsend has acquired - in fairly quick succession - the Luciann Theater on Summer Avenue, the Desoto Masonic Lodge at Court Avenue and Fourth Street, and the historic Lowenstein mansion on Jefferson Avenue and Manassas Street. In this episode, Bill explains his passion for old buildings, which dates back to his childhood in Memphis, and his plans to use the properties' renovations to spur or support the revitalization of the surrounding neighborhoods. 

The 2022 Cooper Young Garden Walk is coming up May 21-2, but that's just one piece of what's going on at the Cooper Young Garden Club. In this program, club organizer Kim Halyak visits to discuss the club's seventh annual walk (featuring 90 gardens!), their gateway landscaping project along the neighborhood's southern border, the Cooper Young Arboretum, and much more. Kim and Emily also talk about how gardens and other green spaces are an integral part of the built environment, contributing significantly to a city's livability and attractiveness to visitors. 

More Information

Cooper Young Garden Club and Walk

Commercial real estate broker Darrell Cobbins visits Memphis Metropolis to discuss the 15-year anniversary of Universal Commercial, the firm he founded 15 years ago. Darrell has played a role in a wide range of projects in the community, from helping the Crosstown Concourse developers acquire property at the beginning of his firm's tenure to most recently assisting Junior Achievement in moving its local headquarters from downtown to Binghampton. Darrell also talks with Emily about Lakeview Gardens, one of the first subdivisions built for African American homeowners, developed by his grandfather. This wide-ranging discussion also touches on the lack of diversity in the commercial real estate industry, and how intentional hiring strategies can benefit the field and the larger community. 

Later in the show, regular commentator Charlie Santo stops by to talk about how the urban planning profession is also facing diversity challenges and the strategies the University of Memphis is deploying to recruit a student body that is diverse not only in race but also in terms of socioeconomic status, gender identity, and more. 

In this show, Memphis Metropolis welcomes Deveney Perry, executive director BLDG Memphis. BLDG Memphis is a 22-year old community development organization, working in the areas of organizational capacity building, community engagement, and public policy advocacy. Later in the show, regular commentator joins host Emily Trenholm to talk about the origins of BLDG Memphis and examine the history of community development corporations in Memphis in a national context.

For more information

BLDG Memphis website

Tom Bailey, recently retired after a long career in local journalism, visits the show for a conversation about the most significant real estate and community development projects and trends of the past decade or so. In this wide-ranging discussion, Tom and Emily talk about projects that succeeded against all odds - such as Crosstown and the Tennessee Brewery redevelopments - as well as smaller but significant events that helped ignite broader change, such as the addition of bike lanes to Madison Avenue and the New Face for an Old Broad event. 

Late last year, Congress passed the bipartisan Federal Investment and Jobs Act, which represented the largest investment in the country's infrastructure in generations - some $500 billion in new funding to be utilized over five years. In this program, City of Memphis public works director Robert Knecht visits Memphis Metropolis to discuss why the infrastructure bill is so important for cities like Memphis, and how the city hopes to utilize its funding for projects of all types, from long-planned street repaving to broadband and resilience initiatives. Later in the show, regular commentator Charlie Santo and Emily do a deeper dive into the bill itself, including the different funding categories, and tee up a future program on how future city investments could connect Memphis workers and communities to the Blue Oval electric car manufacturing plant.

The Griggs Business College building,  at the corner of Vance Avenue and Danny Thomas Boulevard, isn't as well known as other historic structures. But that's about to change. Emerging real estate developer Stephanie Love and partners literally saved the Griggs Building from the wrecking ball (it was set to be torn down for a gas station) and now the former Black-owned college will be redeveloped to serve the community. Stephanie visited Memphis Metropolis to explain how she got interested in the building, and the long journey that led to her company's eventual acquisition of it. Later in the program, commentator Cole Bradley returns to reflect on the role of champions like Stephanie in redeveloping some of the city's important (and cool) older buildings. 

In this program, Memphis Metropolis welcomes Tonya Meeks, new district coordinator for Urban Land Institute (ULI) in Memphis. ULI is an international organization made up of real estate and land use professionals with a shared vision to shape the built environment. 

Tonya brings years of work in nonprofit consulting to her new role, as well as experience in the real estate industry. Emily and Tonya talk about the role of ULI in the community and highlight upcoming programs that will focus on receivership (a tool to redevelop blighted properties) and housing for refugees coming to Memphis. 

Resources and Information

Urban Land Institute - Memphis

Planning for a whole city's future development is critically important but the process can seem abstract to many participants. That's where small area plans come into play. In this program, Memphis Metropolis is joined by Susannah Barton, administrator of comprehensive planning at the Memphis and Shelby County Division of Planning and Development (DPD). DPD recently completed small area plans around important anchors in eight Memphis neighborhoods, from South City and Soulsville to Hollywood-Hyde Park and Highland Heights. Susannah explains how the community was engaged in setting its own priorities and how funding has already been set aside to implement some of the top recommendations. Later in the program, regular commentator Charlie Santo returns to talk about the city's welcome new era of planning and to reflect on a favorite Ry Cooder song about cities and baseball: 3rd Base, Dodger Stadium.

Information and Resources

Memphis 3.0 (Office of Comprehensive Planning

If you've driven around the Memphis Medical District recently, you've probably noticed new housing development projects, spiffed up storefronts, and improvements to the neighborhoods streets and public spaces. Plus there's lots more going on behind the scenes. Learn about it in our interview with Alex Feldman of U3 Advisors and Rory Thomas from the Medical District Collaborative, as they reflect on the results of the "anchor strategy" being implemented in the area - and share their wishes and plan for the next five years. 

More information

MMDC Five Year Report

Several transformative development projects are coming to the Frayser neighborhood, including a brand new Ed Rice Community Center. In this program, Memphis Metropolis speaks with Todd Walker, architect and principal at Archimania, and Shelly Rice from the Frayser Exchange Club. Todd, Shelly, and Emily talk about why Ed Rice is so important to the Frayser community, and how the new community center is all about connectivity - between inside and outside spaces and between people. 

Later in the show, regular commentator Cole Bradley joins in to talk more about connections and why urban design is so important in civic spaces.

Many elders want to stay in their homes as they age, but poor housing conditions and lack of accessibility can be significant barriers. Christin Reeder, senior research and evaluation manager for Habitat for Humanity of Greater Memphis, visits the program to discuss these challenges and how Habitat’s Aging in Place home repair program has helped many Memphis seniors stay in their homes and improve their quality of life. Later, regular commentator Austin Harrison shares his thoughts on the many benefits of staying in place, including familiarity and stability, and other topics.

More information

Habitat for Humanity Aging in Place

Ashley Cash and Mary Claire Borys from the City of Memphis Divison of Housing and Community Development visit Memphis Metropolis to discuss the new Liberty Park community and youth sports complex being built on the former site of the MidSouth Fairgrounds. Ashley, Mary Claire, and Emily discuss the land's interesting history - as a race track, casino, municipal swimming pool, among many other uses - and plans to knit the new facilities into the broader campus that also includes the Kroc, Children's Museum, Tiger Lane, and the Liberty Bowl. 

More information about Liberty Park:

https://www.libertyparkmemphis.com/

Architect Jacob Davis from Archimania visits Memphis Metropolis to explain the firm's innovative efforts to reimagine Cooper Street as a "carbon neutral corridor" by renovating its aging building stock in a sustainable and connected manner, beginning with their own headquarters. Later in the program, commentator Charlie Santo comes by to discuss other strategies - from street trees to micro-transit - that could reduce the carbon footprint of Cooper and similar streets. 

Resources and Information

Visit the Archimania website for more information about their work on carbon neutral corridors. 

https://www.archimania.com/all-projects/carbon-neutral-corridors

What neighborhood or zip code families live in can have huge implications for how well they live, in terms of health and longevity, income, transportation, and access to economic opportunities. This week Memphis Metropolis welcomes Jamilca Burke, chief strategy and impact officer for Seeding Success. Seeding Success is helping facilitate a multi-sector initiative called Place Matters that aims to "define the challenges of our social and economic systems and policies, and identify sustainable solutions that make a shared vision for a thriving community a reality. The goal will be to improve the connection between the systems that support families like housing, community development, economic development, education, transportation, health, and workforce development and allow residents to access these resources efficiently."

Later in the show, regular commentator Cole Bradley returns to do a deeper dive into the disparity between places and the elements of a neighborhood where everyone can thrive. 

Read more about and get involved with the Place Matters initiative here. 

Land Installment Contracts (LICs) are a dangerous rent-to-own scheme that can leave potential homebuyers in the lurch instead of leading to homeownership. Although not a new kind of agreement, LICs have proliferated in Memphis in the wake of the foreclosure crisis, after which many single-family homes were purchased by large out-of-town investors. This week, Dr. Andrew Guthrie from the University of Memphis Dept. of City and Regional Planning visits the program to discuss some research he and U of M colleagues are undertaking around the impact of LICs on Memphis families and neighborhoods. Later in the program, regular commentator and housing expert Austin Harrison returns to talk about what's happening around LICs in other parts of the U.S., in terms of both research and activism. 

Further information

A Memphis Mirage: How Home Mortgage Alternatives and Increased Equity Firm Ownership Diminish Wealth in Low-Income Communitiesâ€� by Wade Rathke (founder of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) and Diné Butler examines how large equity firms diminished home wealth in low-income neighborhoods in Memphis and the nation in the years following the Great Recession. White paper from the Hooks Institute. 

United Housing. For help or resources if you think you have or are being offered a land installment contract.

MLk50 reporter Jacob Steimer visits Memphis Metropolis for a discussion of his recent reporting about dramatic increases in local rents and how families are being impacted. Later in the show, regular commentator Austin Harris provides some historical context to how the local rental market has changed over the past 15 years and talks with Emily about potential policy changes that could keep rents in line. 

Justin Merrick from Center for Transforming Communities (CTC) visits Memphis Metropolis to talk about how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected community engagement and organizing.

This week we take a deep dive into the qualities that make neighborhood commercial districts attractive, appealing, and livable - and how proposed local zoning changes could over time eliminate undesirable land uses and contribute to the revitalization of those places. Returning to the show for this discussion, Director of the Memphis and Shelby County Division of Planning and Development. 

This week, Dennis Ostrow from the volunteer-built and -maintained V & E Greenline visits to discuss the origins of the city's first green line, its enhancements over the years, and its importance to the VECA neighborhood. Later in the show, commentator Cole Bradley and host Emily Trenholm talk about the many community benefits to green lines and greenways, in the areas of transportation, health, neighborhood connectivity, and community building. 

VECA's annual fundraiser for the V & E Greenline will be Saturday, October 9, 2021. Plan to attend!

Resources and Information

V & E Greenline

With extreme weather events like Hurricane Ida happening so frequently, communities around the U.S. are considering their own preparedness. This week, Memphis Metropolis sat down with Jared Darby from the Memphis and Shelby County Office of Sustainability and Resilience. After the severe local flooding in 2011, Shelby County received federal grant funding to craft a resilience plan and just as importantly, build projects that would help mitigate future flooding. On the show, Jared discusses those ongoing projects and more.

Later in the program, regular commentator Charlies Santo from the University of Memphis came by for a deeper dive into the meaning of resilience and the importance of social vulnerability in addressing it. Charlie and Emily also discussed the Regional Greenprint Plan, which built the foundation for local sustainability efforts and indirectly also ushered in a new era of planning in Memphis and Shelby County.

More information

Resilient Shelby

Memphis and Shelby County Resilience Plan

Daron Joffee, also known as Farmer D, visits Memphis Metropolis to discuss how incorporating agricultural uses such as farms, gardens, and farmers markets into "agrihoods" (agriculture-based neighborhoods) can promote land conservation and the farming sector while also benefiting residents through a greater sense of community. We were also joined by Marlon Foster, executive director of Knowledgequest in South Memphis, an early proponent and practitioner of the agrihood concept through the Greenleaf Learning Farm. 

Resources and Information

Citizen Farmer website, including a link to the CF podcast and book. 

Greenleaf Learning Farm at Knowledgequest

Shelby County historian Jimmy Rout III visits the show to discuss the preservation of Shelby County's smaller historic cemeteries, including African American resting places such as Hollywood (Memphis Slim and Furry Lewis are buried there)  and Mt. Carmel (containing the grave of Memphis hero Tom Lee) in South Memphis, as well as the many family-owned burial sites in the county. 

Additional information 

Email Shelby County historian Jimmy Rout III

Gravestone Inscriptions from Shelby County

Photos from Hollywood, Mt. Carmel, and other historic cemeteries at the Historic Memphis website.

Sacred to the Memory - a portfolio of photos of forgotten African American burial places in Shelby County, from University of Memphis professor Coriana Close. 

When LGBTQ+ youth become homeless or face housing challenges, the ripple effects on health, employment, and safety can be profound. This week, Stephanie Bell visits Memphis Metropolis to discuss how Out Memphis is addressing the issue on many fronts through its Metamorphosis Project, a new resource and housing support center. Later in the show, regular commentator Cole Bradley stops by to talk about other local progress on the homeless-serving front and the historic importance of special places - from bars to neighborhoods - in the gay community. 

More information

Out Memphis

Donate to the Metamorphosis Project

Bar Fight: The Rise and Fall of Memphis' Gay Bars

This week, Mr. Muhammad from Juice Orange Mound and Rhodes College student Mary Elizabeth Whitmire visit Memphis Metropolis to discuss the Mound Up Neighborhood Revitalization Plan. Through a resident-led planning process - supported by Rhodes students - the Orange Mound community is identifying its own priorities and projects as the neighborhood and surrounding areas are experiencing rapid change. Later in the show, commentator Austin Harrison shares his perspective as the Rhodes professor working to support the plan and build long-term partnerships between the college and the community. 

Resources

Mound Up Urban Revitalization Plan 

Mound Up on Facebook 

Juice Orange Mound

This week, Bradyn Carson from the Memphis Office of Comprehensive Planning and Meghan Medford from Summer Avenue Merchants Association visit Memphis Metropolis to talk about a so-called Complete Streets study for Summer. Through the planning process, stakeholders including business owners, residents, and nonprofits will identify needs, priorities, and recommendations to make the streets safe for all users - including pedestrians, bike riders. and transit users - and more attractive as well. 

Later in the program, regular commentator Austin Harrison returns to talk with host Emily Trenholm about the ongoing renaissance of Summer and how planners and neighbors are working to celebrate and preserve the city's true international district. 

Resources and Information

Memphis and Shelby County Office of Planning and Development website

• Summer Avenue virtual planning session - Thursday, September 9 @ noon - Zoom link here
• Summer Avenue virtual planning session - Thursday, September 9 @ 4:30 p.m. - Zoom link here

Summer Avenue Merchants Association website

Summer Avenue Merchants Association on Facebook

Memphis Metropolis returns after a break! This week, Lauren Bermudez of Downtown Memphis Commission visits to talk about the Groove On-Demand Shuttle, an on-call van service connecting downtown and the medical district with neighborhoods in North and South Memphis. Groove is being piloted by a partnership between DMC, the Memphis Medical District Collaborative, and Memphis Area Transit Authority, and has the potential to make transit more accessible and useful to both existing and new riders. 

Later in the program, regular commentator Charlie Santo joins Emily to talk about the role of technology in the future of transit (could self-driving transit vehicles be in the future?) and whether or not services like the Groove On-Demand Shuttle could increase ridership from populations MATA hasn't traditionally served. 

Information and Resources

Learn more and sign up for the Groove On-Demand Shuttle

For the second show in our Endangered Structures series, Memphis Metropolis sits down with Angela Barksdale and Roy Barnes of the Coliseum Coalition to discuss why the Coliseum is so important to Memphis and particularly, the Orange Mound neighborhood; how the Coalition is working to support its redevelopment; and how the building can enhance and support the Liberty Park development at the Fairgrounds. Later in the program, regular commentator Cole Bradley from High Ground News comes back to share childhood memories of the Coliseum and discuss the Beltline, a smaller but equally historic neighborhood that is also adjacent to the Fairgrounds.

Resources and Information

Coliseum Coalition website

Coliseum Coalition on Facebook

Liberty Park website

Anton Mack from Explore Bike Share pays a visit to Memphis Metropolis to discuss the organization's new fleet of electric bikes, how their program and ridership shifted during the pandemic, and their long-range plans to integrate more seamlessly into local transit and overall transportation systems.  Later in the program, commentator Charlie Santo joins Emily to define and discuss micro-mobility - the use of shared transportation modes like bikes and scooters to make short trips - and its potential for Memphis.

More information

Explore Bike Share

Community land trusts are a cooperative form of land ownership that keeps property affordable in perpetuity. Most commonly used to preserve housing affordability in a neighborhood where prices are appreciating (and threatening residents with displacement), CLTs can also be used for commercial, industrial, or agricultural purposes. This week, Magaly Cruz and Joni Laney visit Memphis Metropolis to talk about the city's first-ever CLT, in Binghampton, the development of their first housing unit, and the partners that helped them along the way. Later in the program, commentator Austin Harrison does a deeper dive into the history of CLTs and how real estate market dynamics may help determine what structure and purpose work in different neighborhoods. 

Resources

Binghampton Community Land Trust

Grounded Solutions Network

In this week's show, Josh First from the VECA neighborhood talks about the historic structure on Vollintine Avenue that was built in the 1950s by the Baron Hirsch synagogue along with an adjoining residential neighborhood - Vollintine Hills - that housed many of its members. The enormous structure, currently occupied by Gethsemane Gardens church, recently went on the market, and its future is uncertain. Josh and Emily also talk about the Volline Evergreen Community Association (VECA) which is celebrating 50 years of neighborhood activism, as well as the creation of neighbor-led amenities such as the VECA Greenline. 

Later in the program, commentator Charlie Santo returns to discuss how VECA's strong understanding of and connection to its history has helped the organization stay engaged and relevant over the past decades. 

More information:

Then and Now: Baron Hirsch Synagogue

This week, the city's Parks and Neighborhoods director Nick Walker visits Memphis Metropolis to talk about a new master plan for parks, the first that has been produced since 1999. 

Many of Memphis's older neighborhoods - such as Cooper Young and South Memphis - were laid out with lots that are considerably narrower than what would be allowed today. Managing the redevelopment of those properties in a way that responds to real estate market pressures and is, at the same time, compatible with a neighborhood's look and feel, has presented challenges to both local government and community stakeholders. Josh Whitehead, zoning administrator of the city's Division of Planning and Development, joins Memphis Metropolis to discuss the history of some of the city's earliest subdivisions, and how both DPD and neighborhoods are working to ensure that infill development fits in and meets the desires of current and future residents of all older neighborhoods, from Midtown to Orange Mound. 

This week, Memphis Metropolis gets deep into the weeds to understand the causes of blight and how community developers are using innovative tools to eradicate it, one property at a time. First, Leslie Smith, executive director of Blight Authority of Memphis, explains what a land bank authority can do and how BAM's creation brought some new tools to the table in the city's efforts to fight blight.

Later in the show, regular commentator (and self-described 'blight nerd') Austin Harrison returns to discuss the economic impact of blight on neighborhoods and the city, and why acknowledging the racist causes of blight - including public policies that supported redlining and predatory lending - are key to developing equitable ways to eradicate it.

Resources

Blight Authority of Memphis

Memphis Fights Blight

This week,  Felicia Harris of the city's Division of Housing and Community Development and Jimmie Tucker of Self Tucker Architects visit Memphis Metropolis to talk about the upcoming revitalization of Historic Melrose School. Deeply informed by years of community advocacy for the building, the plan for Melrose calls for a new branch library, a genealogy room, affordable senior apartments, and other amenities. 

Later in the show, commentator Charlie Santo, director of the University of Memphis Department of City and Regional Planning, joins Emily to talk about Mayor Strickland's recently announced Accelerate Memphis initiative, which will invest some $200 million in civic assets (such as Melrose), parks, and neighborhoods. Among many promising aspects to Accelerate Memphis is the resources it will allocate to supporting the city's recently adopted Memphis 3.0 comprehensive plan. 

What happens when an urban congregation moves or closes, leaving a neighborhood with a large empty building? Conner Walker from Commercial Advisors and Dane Forlines with The Heights CDC visit Memphis Metropolis to talk about the redevelopment challenges presented by former church buildings, local success stories, and how congregations and neighborhoods can proactively encourage adaptive reuse, so important buildings are not lost to the wrecking ball. We also do a deep dive into the recent closure of Highland Heights United Methodist Church on Summer Avenue, and strategies the CDC is using to encourage the building's redevelopment and prevent its demolition.

Later in the show, commentator Austin Harrison comes back to talk about the many different kinds of large buildings that can create blight in a neighborhood if empty - including schools, factories, and big-box stores - and how accumulated back taxes and liens can pose additional challenges to the feasibility of their redevelopment. 

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

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/

Holly Jansen Fulkerson from Memphis Heritage visits Memphis Metropolis to explain what historic preservation is all about, discuss some recent advocacy efforts, and introduce a new program focused on the recognition and documentation of historic African American places.  Later in the program, urban designer Ray Brown joins Emily to talk about why a gas station and convenience store on Sam Cooper and Hollywood was a bad idea and the development challenges and opportunities on Summer Avenue. 

Memphis Metropolis is about the built environment – the building blocks that define the look and feel of our city and region. From the downtown skyscrapers to the historic neighborhoods to the suburbs, we’ll talk to community leaders and residents, examining architecture, transportation, public art, parks, development and redevelopment plans, and much more, from a variety of perspectives. Your host is Emily Trenholm.

In our inaugural show,  Steve Lockwood of Frayser CDC reflects on his career in Memphis community development, including stints as staff or board member at VECA CDC and Cooper Young Development Corp.  Then, Charlie Santo, chair of the Department of City and Regional Planning at the University of Memphis, talks with us about the growth of the local CDC industry, the challenges of redeveloping suburban-style neighborhoods, and why everyone needs to fill out their Census forms.