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Every neighborhood in Memphis has something worth building on: people who care, organizations doing good work, businesses investing in their communities, and families who want their neighborhoods to thrive.
Last night, our Division of Housing and Community Development brought neighborhood organizations from across the city together at Tiger Lane for A Taste of Memphis. Each had a table, two chairs, and a few hours to show what makes their community special.
That event gets at something I believe deeply about this work. We spend plenty of time talking about the challenges in our neighborhoods. We also need to recognize what is working, who is doing the work, and what we can learn from one another.
Earlier in my career, I had the privilege of leading our Division of Housing and Community Development. It shaped how I think about cities and what it takes for neighborhoods to thrive.
Housing is one of our highest priorities. We have set a goal of encouraging the development of 10,000 new homes by 2030, but the number alone isn’t the point. We need the right housing, at the right price points, in ways that strengthen neighborhoods and create opportunity for the people who live there.
 “Memphis is an awesome place to be. The people, the city itself and the energy that’s here. I love Memphis!” -Dr. Williams from Advanced Healthcare & Wellness Clinic (attendee and vendor at Taste of Memphis)
That is the work we’ll take on at the Memphis Housing Summit on Oct. 15.
We’re bringing some of the best housing and community development minds in the country to Memphis and pairing them with the people doing this work here every day.
We’ll hear from former U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge, Dawn Luke Arnold of Invest Atlanta, HOPE founder Bill Bynum, Atlanta developer Krystal Tyler-Peterson, and entrepreneur and real estate investor Shana Render, the wife and longtime business partner of Atlanta artist and entrepreneur Killer Mike.
Together, they bring experience in federal housing policy, local development, financing, investment, and building wealth and opportunity in communities. We’re pairing that experience with local knowledge and asking what can work here.
We’ll dig into middle-income housing, new approaches to delivering more affordable housing, and how we build housing that responds to the needs of the communities around it.
Getting to our goal requires learning from people doing this work well, bringing the right people together, and turning the best ideas into solutions that work for Memphis.
The Memphis Housing Summit is Thursday, Oct. 15, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Memphis Botanic Garden. It is free, but registration is required. Register for the Memphis Housing Summit. For more information and the summit agenda, click the image below or here.
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