What was meant to be an icon for the city of Memphis has become a burden, as the city's pyramid-shaped sports and concert complex sits vacant and unused. The city is still trying to find a way to reuse it.
"Holy Moses! The Great American Pyramid of Memphis."
"A glorious structure of poured concrete and shiny stainless steel, of form if not function, it rose 321 feet from the sedimentary banks of the Mississippi River, just an ibis's glide from Interstate 40 and the Hernando de Soto Bridge. Nothing quite like this existed anywhere else on the continent, save the exotic metropolis of Vegas."
"A quarter-century ago, the idea of a pyramid arose from the city's desire to provide a larger venue for sporting events and concerts, and to have a structure as defining as the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, 300 miles upriver. Along came Sidney Shlenker, a Denver businessman and visionary, to promote a pyramid of pyramids, one befitting a city named after the ancient Egyptian capital."
"By the time the $68 million arena opened in November 1991, the city and Shelby County had fired Mr. Shlenker for failing to come up with his share of the project's cost. The Great American Pyramid of Memphis became, simply, the Pyramid: a place with 150,000 square feet of unused space and a never-assembled inclinator somewhere in its cavernous hold."
FULL STORY: A City’s Horizon, Reshaped by an Empty Promise
Memphis: Crime-fighting Camera Sheds Light on Police Abuse
The irony is unmistakable. Public surveillance cameras, long controversial in the criminal justice community, provided pivotal video footage of the beating of motorist Tyre Nichols by five Memphis police officers at a traffic stop on January 7.
Winter Storm Knocks Out Drinking Water Systems in the South, Including in Jackson
Jackson, Mississippi made headlines and incurred a civil rights investigation earlier this year when flooding knocked out the city’s drinking water supply. This week’s winter storm had the same effect on Jackson as well as other Southern cities.
Memphis Testing Vintage Siemens U2 Trolley Cars—With Service Expected to Open Later This Year
Originally designed for use in Frankfurt, Germany, the Siemens–Duewag U2 was used in Canada and San Diego before now coming to Memphis.
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
Planning for Accessibility: Proximity is More Important than Mobility
Accessibility-based planning minimizes the distance that people must travel to reach desired services and activities. Measured this way, increased density can provide more total benefits than increased speeds.
World's Largest Wildlife Overpass In the Works in Los Angeles County
Caltrans will soon close half of the 101 Freeway in order to continue construction of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing near Agoura Hills in Los Angeles County.
Colorado Bans No-Fault Evictions
In most cases, landlords must provide a just cause for evicting tenants.
Alaska Village Becomes Test Case for Climate Change Relocation
The Yup’ik village of Newtok is the first Alaska community to begin a full-scale relocation necessitated by the impacts of climate change. Another 31 Alaska communities remain vulnerable.
Amtrak Takes Lead on Texas Central Rail
The high-speed rail project isn’t a done deal, but if it moves forward, trains could begin operating in 2030.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
