SustainLane 2006 US City Sustainability Ranking
Memphis: Living for Today
For many of Memphis's million annual visitors, Elvis's Graceland or Sun Studios are the main attractions. Few realize that Memphis is the South's largest city outside of Florida and an important symbol of the Civil Rights Movement.
Located on the fertile bluffs of the Mississippi, Memphis used to be an economic and military center. After the Civil War, Memphis became a mecca for freed slaves. When a yellow fever epidemic wiped out nearly a quarter of the population, Memphis responded by building the most advanced sewage treatment facility of the time, and by locating a new water source: the legendary Artesian Springs. It is this ability to rebound from strife and tragedy-more recently Martin Luther King's assassination at a local motel-that has made Memphis the great city it is today. However, little progress has been made in ensuring the city's long-term future.
Memphis is a proud city with strong cultural traditions and an efficient, well-run government. Nonetheless, it lacks leadership and management for city sustainability issues. Mpact Memphis is trying to improve Memphis by inspiring the under-40 generation to make their city a better place. With clean water and decent air, city officials and residents have terrific strengths to work from in building a more sustainable public transportation infrastructure and economy.
