Great Neighborhoods for a Great Community
Great Neighborhoods
Status Strategy Summary Comments
Completed 2.1.6

Apply to the League of American Bicyclists to become a “Bicycle Friendly Community.”

Memphis Metropolitan Planning Organization applied for this designation and received an honorable mention in 2011.  In addition, Memphis City Hall received a bronze in the category for a bicycle friendly business.  

Completed 2.1.7

Support community gardening programs and create an Urban Garden and Organic Farming Initiative, offering training in urban farming and help transform vacant urban parcels into community gardens.

GrowMemphis’ primary work is aimed at training new community gardeners to transform vacant parcels into sustainable community gardens.  Currently they work with about 30 community gardens.  Recently they collaborated to design an Urban Agriculture Entrepreneur Program to help create business plans for those more interested in larger scale, for-profit urban farming.  

 

Roots Memphis Farm Academy is a farmer incubator program that will create new farmers by combining sustainable agricultural education and business plan development with an incubation process that connects graduates to land, financing, and markets. Graduates of the Farm Academy will utilize currently vacant land to produce food in the urban core, providing themselves and their families with much-needed income.

Completed 2.1.8

Establish three demonstration neighborhoods where targeted policies, incentives, and public and private partnerships will be applied to develop a model sustainable neighborhood.

Three demonstration neighborhoods were designated by Community LIFT as Binghampton, Frayser, and Upper South Memphis. LIFT works in these neighborhoods to target investments in community building projects.

Initial Stage 2.1.9

Assist developers to reach their pledge for the Fairgrounds to be a “green” project and for the redevelopment to demonstrate sustainable urbanism principles in action.

Plans for redevelopment of the Fairgrounds are being studied at this time.  

Completed 2.1.10

Create a “Neighborhood Clean-up Drive” program where a neighborhood has access to resources and equipment to remove debris, trash, and abandoned cars. 

Memphis City Beautiful assists neighborhoods in their clean-up efforts, contact them through their website.