As the Memphis downtown saw the wane of the cotton trade and the death of an active Mississippi Riverfront commerce, it also witnessed the emergence of an unsanctioned, extremely successful trade of music, leisure, entertainment, and culture in its in-between spaces. In this context, the alleys of Memphis provide the concept for a uniquely Memphis, extremely urban approach to planning within the historic Memphis downtown; one that can meet the river's edge rather than merely gaze upon it, and can be applied incrementally yet absorb the city fabric, and its history, on a larger scale.