Memphis Metropolis

25/11/2022

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.

Listen at www.memphismetropolis.com, our WYXR show page, or wherever you listen to podcasts

23/11/2022

The Memphis 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.

Listen at www.memphismetropolis.com, our WYXR show page, or wherever you listen to podcasts

Photo: Steve Austell

20/11/2022

You'll never find a more enthusiastic and hardworking community organizer than Jason Sharif. You can see from his picture that he means business!

Whitehaven, one of the largest Memphis neighborhoods, is experiencing positive change and renewal after years of disinvestment. In this program, Jason, founder of the Respect The Haven CDC 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.

Listen at www.memphismetropolis.com, our WYXR show page, or wherever you listen to podcasts

05/09/2022

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 Investment.

To listen, visit www.memphismetropolis.com, our WYXR show page, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

31/08/2022

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.

Listen at www.memphismetropolis.com, our WYXR show page, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

04/08/2022

Madison and Avalon - a Key Midtown Intersection - Is Getting Spiffed Up

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 (pictured below, left to right) 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.

Listen at www.memphismetropolis.com, our WYXR show page, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

01/08/2022

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 Investment Company, 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 form ULI Memphis, the local chapter of 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.

Listen at www.memphismetropolis.com, our WYXR show page, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

21/07/2022

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.

Listen on www.memphismetroplis.com, our WYXR show page, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

18/07/2022

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 Mid-South 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.

Listen at www.memphismetropolis.com, our WYXR show page, or wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also check out the Champions of the Lost Causes web site to listen to Marvin's podcast and download his free book.

Photo of Chooch Pickard, Carolyn Chatman, and Marvin Stockwell, taken for High Ground News by Legend of Shelda.

30/06/2022

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 Concourse and the Mid-South Coliseum and neighborhoods like Orange Mound - as well as the role of photography in advocacy and the importance of engaging residents in the work.

Listen at www.memphismetropolis.com, our WYXR show page, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Photo from Orange Mound by Brandon Dill.

01/06/2022

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.

Listen at www.memphismetropolis.com, our WYXR show page, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

27/05/2022

I've had many entertaining chats with Josh Whitehead and this interview was no exception.

Josh recently left a long career in public sector planning to join the private sector. At Develop 901, he led the long-overdue overhaul of the local development codes and also was involved in the Memphis 3.0 comprehensive plan.

Here, Josh reminisces about childhood experiences that fostered an early interest in urban planning and discussed highlights of his career in government. We 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.

Listen at www.memphismetropolis.com, our WYXR show page, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Photo: Burch, Porter, & Johnson

23/05/2022

Working at the grassroots level can at times feel more like a slog than a journey to success, no matter how great the cause or the talents of your team. But small actions can and do ignite transformative neighborhood change.

In this show, I travel down memory lane with Sarah Newstok, a former colleague at Livable Memphis. We talk about how grassroots action helped launch 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.

Listen on www.memphismetropolis.com, our WYXR show page, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

12/05/2022

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 Inc. 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.

Listen at www.memphismetropolis.com, our WYXR show page, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Conceptual image of future Northside plaza from Studio Gang.

09/05/2022

Is the Madison Avenue trolley returning to service?

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 the discussion 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.

Listen on www.memphismetropolis.com, our WYXR program page, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

24/04/2022

Improving and stabilizing neighborhoods takes money, plain and simple. While local funders can and do contribute to these efforts, much of the bigger money comes from national foundations and the federal government - and a large portion of those dollars flow through intermediary organizations.

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 Memphis Metropolis to discuss her career accomplishments, and which programs and partnerships are kicking off the LISC work in Memphis.

Listen on www.memphismetropolis.com, our WYXR program page, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Photo of the South City redevelopment project by Cole Bradley.

22/04/2022

Curious about Memphis' sewer history? Check out our interview with Caroline Carrico from StoryBoard Memphis, who joined us 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, Emily and regular commentator Charlie Santo from City & Regional Planning - Memphis 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.

Listen on www.memphismetropolis.com, our WYXR program page, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Photo courtesy of Brandon Dahlberg.

04/04/2022

If you follow neighborhood and preservation developments you probably know Bill Townsend - he's acquired several interesting and important old buildings, including the Luciann Theater and most recently, the Lowenstein mansion.

Bill recently joined Memphis Metropolis for a wide-ranging discussion on how he got interested in preservation and his redevelopment plans for the various projects.

Listen on www.memphismetropolis.com, our WYXR program page, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Historic photo of Lowenstein House from the MTSU archives.

Memphis Metropolis is a show about the built environment – the building blocks that define the loo