Waterfront Clean-Up

Bundle up, head to the boat ramp on Mud Island River Park, and climb a board a john boat to help clean-up Memphis’s waterfront.

Dec. 5, 8 am – noon.
Ages 10+ invited to join. Lunch will be provided, so please phone Matt McLeane at 634-3234 to volunteer.

Sponsors: Cargill Inc. and Living Lands and Waters with support from Coca-Cola of W. Memphis.

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Online Job Site Recommends 10 Greenest Cities

One of Memphis’s goals is to Make Memphis a “Place of Choice” for knowledge workers.
Last week, the web job site, employmentspot.com, listed America’s 10 greenest cities and recommended job searchers, “take a look at these bright spots.” Let’s add Memphis to that list. What happens on the Memphis riverfront can make a difference.

Click read more below for the list and employment.com’s comments.

“If you love the outdoors and are environmentally conscious, you may consider earth-friendly living very important....MSN.com compiled a list of America’s 10 greenest cities for those of us who want to keep the earth blooming. If you are in the middle of a job search right now, take a look at these bright spots to help find a city that matches your desire to be environmentally friendly. A better job awaits in one of these beautiful metropolises.

1. Austin, Texas
Austin has taken a proactive approach in developing green energy power sources. Austin also leads the rest of the United States in wind power and biodiesel production. The city hopes to soon convert some of its vehicles to hybrids. Local leadership has developed plans to be the most energy-efficient city in the nation by 2015. If you are looking for a zero net-energy capable home for your family, come to Austin, where all newly built homes will meet that standard in the next few years

2. Berkeley, California
Berkeley has a high population density, but area residents have used this fact to their advantage in their efforts to expand pedestrian and bike commuting. U.C. Berkeley has helped the area to expand clean-technology and will continue to do so in the coming years.

3. Boston, Massachusetts
Boston, Massachusetts leads the nation in many green initiatives. One area in South Boston soon hopes to generate its own power by utilizing the used cooking oil from area restaurants.

4. Chicago, Illinois
Chicago leads the Midwest in developing recycling programs and other environmentally conscious initiatives. The city promotes green building and buys renewable energy. Millions of visitors and residents utilize the public transportation system, which helps to reduce hazardous emissions.

5. Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis has begun to utilize renewable energy and encourage the construction of green buildings. The city has also enacted simple solutions – such as changing how utility fees are charged – to encourage all citizens to reduce their environmental impact.

6. New York, New York
New York uses its population density to its advantage. Only half of New Yorkers have cars and citizens in general use less power than the average American. The city’s proximity to the Atlantic and compact design require that it aid the fight against global warming.

7. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia monitored urban sprawl carefully, which allows almost a third of its citizens to commute via public transportation. Over 1,500 Philadelphia residents purchase clean power and the city supports citizens who want to generate their own.

8. Portland, Oregon
Portland has hundreds of miles in bike paths and many citizens who use them. Portland was the first American city (in 1993) to enact a Global Warming Action Plan and continues efforts to reduce the use of fossil fuels.

9. San Francisco, California
San Francisco supports a successful recycling plan but has also introduced a composting program that fuels alternative-energy cars and trucks. San Francisco also became the first city in America to ban the use of petroleum-based plastic shopping bags in grocery stores, opting for biodegradable or paper bags instead.

10. Seattle, Washington
Seattle has encouraged area businesses to aid its environmental efforts via the Seattle Climate Partnership. The city is also spending over $30 million in the coming years to be the best bicycling community in the country.”

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Reality Hits Dubai's Waterfront

Debt on real estate projects is hitting governments worldwide, even in oil-rich Dubai, where, for a while, little thought was given to cost and extreme became the norm.

Nakheel, the developer of Dubai's signature palm-shaped islands, was scheduled to make payment on its $3.52 billion of Islamic bonds in a few weeks.

But reality has hit, the project stopped, and restructuring the country's debt may be the only way out. Click to read the NY Times article Dubai Fund Asks for Stay on Debt Payments

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Questions about Memphis lore - Ask Vance

If you aren't a regular at Ask Vance - "the blog of Vance Lauderdale, Memphis Magazine's history and trivia know-it-all" - and you're interested in Memphis lore, you're missing a treat. Check it out, click HERE.


On Nov. 23, as Vance might say: "browsing through some old family photographs," he came across this one of the Cobblestone Landing that shows the wharfmaster's office. Click to enlarge or see it even better at Ask Vance.

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Happy Thanksgiving

from our riverfront!

We are grateful for you, your time, your commitment to public spaces, clean water, a better Memphis.

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Keep it Real - it's what Americans Crave

Barges still make the turn and head into our harbor to serve functioning businesses.

The Memphis Cobblestone Landing is still a boat landing.

Our waterfront is not Disneyland, yet - we still have the real thing. Roger Clinton in an op-ed for the New York Times says, it's what Americans crave: "the authentic, the unspoiled, the genuine – the un-globalized and un-homogenized and un-gentrified” - it’s what makes cities live.

[Click here to read more...]

2009 Waterfront Center Award Winners - Take a Look

Click HERE and take a look! Excellence is the criteria, and the values of authenticity, accessibility, inclusiveness, sustainability, and adaptability are key.

FfOR received the Waterfront Center's Clearwater Award as a citizen group embracing and advocating for these values on the Memphis waterfront!!

[Click here to read more...]

A Thought on Connectivity

Wayfinding - it came up at the Byways & Greenways Forum. Mud Island River Park got kudos, but several speakers said they had a tough time figuring out how to get there. They walked out of their hotels, saw where they wanted to go, but couldn't get there on foot. The monorail was closed.

Accessibility - It's a thought that surfaced often at the planning meetings on Mud Island River Park. Suggestions at those meetings included
* water taxis,
* a new pedestrian bridge, and
* opening up the walkway on the monorail's top level year-round with an inviting name like the Skywalk.

[Click here to read more...]

Report on Byways & Greenways Forum

Great crowd, wonderful day-long program, and the excitement of cutting the ribbon for W. TN to be part of the Great River Road - it was a good day for Memphis!

We were reminded that Memphis has a major international resource - the Mississippi River, something communities along the river often take for granted, and encouraged to think a bit differently about ourselves as living along the Great River Road, the thread and connecting link from MN to LA to the world.

Speakers talked about the funding opportunities they'd taken advantage of to protect their historic sites along the river, conservation and environmental issues to enhance the Great River Road, and the potential to work together up and down the river to encourage historic tourism and sustainable economic development.

A thank you to the MS River Corridor-TN, Hyde Foundation, and ULI Memphis!

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YOU can help set Water Quality Standards for MS River

From Sierra Club Water Sentinels Program

Dangerous pollutants are threatening the health of our waters. Nitrogen and phosphorous pollution has gotten so bad that it threatens the survival of our inland and coastal waters.

Sign the petition to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and ask that they set nitrogen and phosphorous pollution standards that protect the waters of the entire Mississippi River Basin and the Gulf of Mexico.

To sign the petition, click HERE.

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No Answer Yet on Cause of Fish Kill

The cause of the fish kill in the Memphis harbor has not been determined, but the TN Dept. of Environment and Conservation and TN Wildlife Resources are investigating. Click "read more" below to get an update on what they've found. Meanwhile people working on President's Island also are reporting a large and on-going fish kill.

In a letter to Amie Vanderford who reported the problem, Lew Hoffman of TN Water Pollution Control says:

Thank you for your report of the dead fish in Wolf River Lagoon (Harbor). TDEC/WPC was made aware of this by the Coast Guard on 10/28/09 and immediately investigated. The Coast Guard stated that Silver Carp were the only species observed by them at that time. WPC personnel observed numerous fish of several species that were dead or dying. Field parameters of the Lagoon were taken and were within "normal" limits.

On 10/29/09, WPC contacted the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA), who is the lead agency in fish kill investigations, and informed them of the situation. They dispatched personnel to the site who collected fish in order to hopefully determine the cause of the kill. Also, WPC was informed that the Corps of Engineers had conducted dredging activities in the Lagoon during the period of 10/8/09 through 10/19/09.

At this time, pending a determination by TWRA, we have not determined the cause of the kill but are continuing to monitor.

On 11/6/09, WPC re-checked the site and contacted City of Memphis personnel who agreed to clean up the dead fish. They dispatched a crew on the 30th and collected and disposed of all the fish they could see along the shoreline.

On 11/10/09, WPC staff went back to the site based upon your observations and observed that the water had receded a few feet since the 6th and that there were several dead and dying fish along the shoreline and near the docks. The observed species was mostly Silver Carp and again, field parameters were taken and were within or very near to "normal" range.

We will continue our efforts in this matter and will keep you informed of our results.

Thank you for your concern in protecting the waters of the State of Tennessee.

[Click here to read more...]

Connecting the Dots

Since the big Greening Greater Memphis meeting in Feb. of 2007, one important goal for all parks and greenways groups has been to connect the dots - to link green spaces, cultural attractions, riverfronts, neighborhoods, and communities. It’s all about sustainability, smart growth, ... using our assets wisely to make Memphis, Shelby County, W. TN, and our region a better place to live.

On Nov. 18, there’s going to be a day-long forum on the subject.

Area’s Greenways and Byways: A Regional Forum for Success
Wed., Nov. 18, 9 am- 4 pm
at Mud Island River Park Auditorium

Co-sponsors: MS River Corridor - TN and Hyde Family Foundations with support from ULI Memphis.

Area leaders plus the Design Conservation Forum from Chicago will be panelists and presenters. Cost: $15 includes lunch. Click “read more” below to download and mail in the registration form or contact Andrew Trippel, ULI Memphis Coordinator, by phone @901-5568-4423 or via e-mail: Andrew.Trippel@ULI.org

[Click here to read more...]

Fish Kill in Harbor

Photographer Amie Vanderford reports "dozens and dozens of dead fish" in the harbor today, along the shore and in deep and shallow water. Concerned about the health of the water and its fish and also about public health risks, Amie sent some photos to Terry Templeton at the Div. of Water Pollution, TN Dept. of Environment and Conservation to ask that he investigate the problem. Thank you, Amie!!















Click HERE for Amie Vanderford Photography

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Spotted Enjoying our Cobblestone Landing

It was a beautiful early November day, and visitors from Atlanta and the United Kingdom said they loved taking a riverboat ride from our authentic Cobblestone Landing.


From Nov 1 - 30, Memphis Riverboats offers 90-minute sightseeing cruises at 2:30 pm each Saturday and Sunday. Cost: Adults/$19.99; children ages 4-12/$10.99; infants ages 0-3/free. To make a reservation or for more info., click HERE.

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Natural Assets - Memphis is Rich

As local sponsors of the Ken Burns series on our National Parks, Carol Lee and Joe Royer were interviewed about their favorite park. Their answer: "The park closest to your home is the most important park in the world."

Watch this video (click twice). What assets we have!

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Memphis could take cue from Chattanooga on restoring carousel

A carousel and skate park were the two most popular specific items identified by the public at the land use meetings for Mud Island River Park.

At the Project for Public Spaces workshop on the Memphis riverfront, attendees also suggested moving the carousel to the riverfront, possibly to Confederate Park. Based on their experience, PPS saw the carousel as "a great addition to downtown."

Click HERE for CA story on Chattanooga carousel.

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