The Memphis Region

The Memphis Region is larger than you think. When you look at this graphic, you see an outer ring at 80 miles from downtown Memphis with Tupelo, Jackson, Jonesboro and other cities at that edge. Inside the circle is a geographic area comprising the Memphis competitive economic unit which competes on the national and global marketplace. From the outside looking in that is Memphis! This is the globally competitive three state, citi-state similar to the Nashville, Atlanta or Indianapolis regions. Within that ring, more than 2.5 million live, work, and play. How do you define and determine the borders and boundaries of an economic region? Consider the answers to these questions:
1) Air travel-where do you go?
2) Medical care, especially trauma or specialties-where do you go?
3) Television-what stations do you watch?
4) Newspaper-what is the major circulation daily?
5) Pro sports, live entertainment, Broadway shows-where do you go?
6) Shopping – where is the concentration of stores?
For political leaders, this a very difficult concept to grasp and encourage, especially across city and state lines that go well beyond their particular political jurisdictions. However, for business decision makers looking to relocate and create new jobs, this is an every day reality. Decision makers expect to find collaborative leadership in regional context working together to create a competitive, progressive and business friendly citi-state. Therefore, we must encourage our political leaders to work together and weigh their own individual agendas against the opportunities for the region as a whole.

The Memphis Metropolitan Statistical Area
Within the larger competitive economic citi-state there is a federal government defined metropolitan statistical area (MSA). In the case of 'Memphis' MSA that area includes eight counties (Shelby, Tipton, Fayette, DeSoto, Marshall, Tate, Tunica and Crittenden) in three states (Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas) with a population of approximately 1.3 million people. Interestingly in both the larger competitive economic unit and the MSA, six United States Senators, three Governors and six Congressmen have a vested interested in the well-being of the area. To date, minimal effort to coalesce those leaders to adopt a commission for the greater good of the region has been attempted. Political jurisdictions are an impedence to a common vision for jobs’ creation. When Nissan relocated its US headquarters to Nashville, they actually chose Cool Springs (located in Franklin, just south of Nashville in Williamson County), which would be equivalent to Nissan choosing Hernando, MS. Yet, in the Nashville mindset, Nissan chose Nashville. When will we have the maturity to understand that on both sides of the Tennessee-Mississippi line?

A Comparison to Atlanta
You are looking at a map of the cit-state known as Atlanta. At the center of the picture below is a yellow area. If you divide the yellow area in half, the top half is the political jurisdiction called the City of Atlanta. Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin is elected by the 450,000 voters that live in that small area in the center of a mega-region called Atlanta, which covers 28 counties. The population of Atlanta is ten times (4.5 million people) that of the City of Atlanta. Yet, Mayor Franklin, instead of simply being concerned with her own political boundaries, leads that citi-state region as mayor - especially for economic development. For instance in a 2006 letter to her constituents, Mayor Franklin committed to bring in 60,000 new jobs by 2009. Her designated role as leader of economic development for Atlanta far exceeds her political jurisdictional authority and boundaries and catapults her to a globally important leadership position. This leadership reality is repeated over and over across the US. Leaders that grasp these truths can guide their geographic area to become competitive in a national and global economy. To think and act otherwise is immature, parochial, and counter-productive.