At a time when so many elements of a daily life in our city can change by choice, the “Buy Local” campaign is another part of a movement that is reconfiguring modern Memphis in ways that have nothing to do with bricks and mortar.

In some ways Buy Local and other ideas that include walkable neighborhoods and eating locally grown food are just as profound as the coming Mitsubishi and Electrolux plants. Together, traditional building blocks of urban growth and newer methods of how we live in our city point to a turning of the times – the point at which we are aware some of our old way of life is fading away.

Locally owned small businesses have always been a vital part of a diverse Memphis economy. And our economy has fared better than other cities – larger and smaller – in tough times because of that diversity.

But better in the current economic climate isn’t great, and it’s no buffer against the harsh realities of owning a business even in the best of times.

Too often these businesses are viewed exclusively as potential collateral damage in economic upheavals ranging from recessions to large plant closings. And that is true to some degree.

Buy Local, as this week’s cover story explains, is an attempt to assert that our locally owned businesses have a strength of their own that can counteract that dependence.

In short, they are more than the sum of their parts and their spending with each other and the buying power of Memphis customers is – while not a natural resource -- an untapped economic resource.

Our economic history also suggests that some of our locally owned businesses have had a world wide impact. They have also been dynamic forces in the Memphis economy as they have grown.

Holiday Inn founder Kemmons Wilson was an important investor when Sam Phillips wanted to go into business for himself with a record label that first began making records for anyone who wanted a personal memento or a unique gift. His Memphis Recording Service became Sun Records – the epitome of a small business with a global influence.

This is not to diminish the role of businesses based elsewhere who build stores and facilities in our city and employ Memphians to work at and manage their properties.

The impact of these partners in our local economy is unquestionably significant.

Their bottom line is also undeniably driven by different considerations than locally owned businesses.

Both have a place in the garden that is our local economy. Each requires a different kind of nurturing.