MidSouth Development District

One Regional Team — conveners and advocates for the whole MidSouth, across three state lines.

The MidSouth Development District (MDD) is the region's official development district — the table where 6 counties and 38 municipalities across Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas plan together. From downtown Memphis, MDD convenes mayors and civic leaders, advocates for best practices, and secures federal economic development resources across five pillars: housing, infrastructure, tourism, transportation, and workforce development. Their footprint — Shelby, Fayette, Lauderdale, and Tipton counties in Tennessee, DeSoto County in Mississippi, and Crittenden County in Arkansas — is the same region where our members live, work, and raise families. As Hernando Mayor Chip Johnson puts it: 'State lines don't mean anything when we're talking about attracting business to the area.'

What MDD Does

Convening the Region

MidSouth Regional Roundtables and the State of the Region bring mayors and civic leaders to one table — the working people who build and staff the region belong at that table too.

Infrastructure

MDD helps steer federal infrastructure investment across the district — the roads, water systems, and public works that union trades build, with prevailing-wage standards attached to federal dollars.

Workforce Development

The region's workforce pipeline runs through doors labor already holds open: TCAT Memphis, union apprenticeships, Career Pathways, and Job Readiness — debt-free training into careers.

Housing

Regional housing strategy pairs naturally with worker-side programs like the Harris Homeownership pathway — because a regional economy is only as strong as the families who can afford to live in it.

Transportation

MDD is the regional transportation planner. For workers, transportation is a paycheck issue — getting to the job site, the night shift, and the training class. Riders and workers deserve a voice in the plan.

Tourism

Memphis tourism runs on hospitality workers — the cooks, housekeepers, servers, and stagehands whose wages decide whether tourism prosperity reaches MidSouth families.

One Regional Team — Including Labor

MDD's mission is to improve the quality of life for every citizen in the MidSouth. That is labor's mission too — we just start from the paycheck. The Memphis & West Tennessee Central Labor Council's footprint overlaps the district's footprint almost exactly: the same six counties of members, across the same three states. When the region plans workforce, infrastructure, housing, transportation, and tourism, it is planning the daily lives of union families. A regional team that includes the workers isn't just fairer — it's smarter planning.

A Community Partner of Labor Education

Labor Education is the worker-side companion to MDD's government-side convening. Where MDD brings mayors together, we bring workers together — and this app already carries the worker-facing half of every MDD pillar: Career Pathways and TCAT for workforce, Harris Homeownership for housing, Driving The Dream referrals for transportation barriers, and the building trades who deliver infrastructure. We look forward to a region where labor sits at the Roundtable — because One Regional Team means everyone on the team.

Connect with MidSouth Development District

Want to get involved, partner, or learn more? Reach out through their website.