Memphis Metropolis

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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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.

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.

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.

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.

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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.

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.

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. 

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. 

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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. 

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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. 

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. 

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.

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. 

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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. 

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. 

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. 

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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. 

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. 

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. 

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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. 

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. 

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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. 

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.

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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.

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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. 

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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. 

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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.

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