Welcome to MoreParks!

We promote the federal funding of new urban and suburban parks using a funding model like the Interstate Highway System. This effort would help stimulate the economy and make the country better for future Americans by transforming underutilized commercial space and vacant homes into parks and public spaces.

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Funding Urban Parks

An Interstate Urban/Suburban Park System

Submitted by Michael Messner on Thu, 02/05/2009 - 01:00

The Interstate Highway System was a transformational federal government program proposed by President Eisenhower. It was started in the 1950's and now has a total length of over 46,000 miles, making it both the largest highway system in the world and the largest public works project in history. The Interstate Highways received substantial federal funding (90% federal and 10% state) for their construction and complied with federal standards, developed by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The highways themselves are owned, built, and operated by the states or toll authorities.

Let’s Bag Bastiat and Build Parks

Submitted by Michael Messner on Tue, 06/23/2009 - 13:04

In the 1830’s, the French economist Claude Frédéric Bastiat outlined a parable about a shopkeeper’s windows that can be summarized: don’t break windows to keep glaziers employed. He said, “if you come to the conclusion that it is a good thing to break windows, that it causes money to circulate, and that the encouragement of industry in general will be the result of it, you will oblige me to call out, "Stop there!

Parking Our Excess Construction

Submitted by Michael Messner on Tue, 07/28/2009 - 14:38

The housing bubble has left the U.S. with an excess supply of over 2 million homes; 19 million are vacant. With fewer households being formed due to the recession, demand for housing has dropped at the same time.

This imbalance of supply and demand has resulted in plunging home prices, destroying many homeowners' savings or pushing them out of their homes. Owning your own home – the prime solid, stable asset of the middle class for decades – became a volatile, speculative "investment" that ruined many families' lives.

Railroads and Commercial Real Estate

Submitted by Michael Messner on Tue, 09/01/2009 - 11:09

Drive around the cities of this country and what do you see: empty stores, vacant lots, acres of asphalt sitting unused. And, if you’re not driving, just check out deadmalls.com on the internet to get a feel for the issue. This country has a commercial real estate oversupply problem. Bernanke recently admitted this, "As the recession's gotten worse in the last six months or so, we're seeing increased vacancy, declining rents, falling prices, and so, more pressure on commercial real estate." So, what can the current commercial real estate crisis learn from the railroad industry? Plenty.

Get rid of bad, non-productive assets and build good assets – PARKS

Good Evening.

My name is Mike Messner.

I first want to thank Catherine Nagel and the City Parks Alliance. I like to make charitable contributions the same way I make investments, expecting very high returns. And, I believe my contributions to the City Parks Alliance will ultimately generate enormous returns.

Thank you all for coming as well. Your input today and tomorrow should help the City Parks Alliance and others determine if we really can remake America.

So why am I here?

It’s Real Estate

With unemployment approaching 10% and underemployment almost 17%, many pundits are reviving James Carville’s phrase used during Clinton’s 1992 election campaign, “It’s the economy, stupid.” Many government actions are being directed to reverse the trends: government stimulus, record low interest rates, and major backstopping of the financial system by the Federal Reserve and Treasury. Yet there are no signs of unemployment falling or major job creation.

Addressing Excess Developed Real Estate with Parks

Submitted by Michael Messner on Tue, 12/01/2009 - 17:40

We have prepared a PowerPoint presentation outlining the real estate problem and the role of parks in addressing the physical toxic assets undermining our financial system.

Creation of mortgage debt has encouraged overbuilding of non-productive housing and retail assets. Vacancies are huge and will continue to grow, with high costs to neighbors, communities, banks, and the economy. Parks can transform this new liability to a neutral or positive asset.

Download PDF File

Recent Articles and Resources

Latest posts from the Bubblenomics Blog and Resources Section.

US cities may have to be bulldozed in order to survive

Submitted by Dana on Mon, 06/15/2009 - 11:20

Bubblenomics

Dozens of US cities may have entire neighborhoods bulldozed as part of drastic "shrink to survive" proposals being considered by the Obama administration to tackle economic decline.

Visit US cities may have to be bulldozed in order to survive

Commercial Real Estate: Crawling Toward Recovery

Submitted by jbonica on Mon, 11/15/2010 - 17:25

Bubblenomics

If nothing else, people who care about commercial real estate in greater Phoenix can take cold comfort in this: the worst is probably over.

But Karl Guntermann, professor of real estate at the W. P. Carey School and author of the ASU-Repeat Sales Indices (ASU-RSI), cautions that renewed good times -- including lower vacancy rates and rising property prices -- are probably several years away. In commercial real estate, Phoenix isn't skipping toward another boom but rather crawling back to normalcy.

Will The Commercial Real Estate Debt Cause Another Market Crisis?

Submitted by jbonica on Mon, 11/15/2010 - 17:17

Bubblenomics

If the residential real estate market is having problems, so is the commercial real estate market – perhaps even more so. Commercial real estate properties – like apartments, shopping malls, hotels, and office buildings – were at a peak until 2007 but devalued 36% in the last two years. The real estate market has incurred debts in the past years and may still incur more debts in the coming years.

Proposed changes to accounting rule rankle real estate community

Submitted by jbonica on Mon, 11/15/2010 - 16:37

Bubblenomics

By Danielle Douglas

Proposed changes to an accounting rule, requiring companies to place the expense of operating leases on their balance sheets, is raising alarm within the commercial real estate community. Opponents say the restructuring of Financial Accounting Standards 13, or FAS 13 as the rule is called, might upset debt ratios, making it harder for companies to secure loans. Supporters of the changes, however, say they will make financial statements more transparent.

Jobenomics- Commercial Real Estate Debt in the US

Submitted by jbonica on Thu, 11/11/2010 - 15:07

Bubblenomics

By Charles Mosley

Office leasing in D-FW still in negative territory

Submitted by jbonica on Thu, 11/11/2010 - 15:00

Bubblenomics

By STEVE BROWN

The North Texas employment market has turned the corner this year, but companies are still holding back on office leasing.

Through the first nine months of 2010, net office leasing in the Dallas-Fort Worth area declined by about 700,000 square feet, according to preliminary numbers from Cushman & Wakefield of Texas.

Hedge Fund Crackdown May Snare European Real Estate Investors

Submitted by jbonica on Mon, 10/04/2010 - 17:39

Bubblenomics

By Chris Bourke

Europe’s commercial real estate owners, saddled with 1.9 trillion euros ($2.5 trillion) of debt, may be forced to make billions of euros in cash payments under planned laws that would treat them like hedge funds.

About Michael Messner

Michael Messner has over 30 years’ investment experience on Wall Street. For the past 13 years he has co-managed Seminole Capital Partners, LP, a billion dollar equity hedge fund. In addition, Michael is the co-founder with his wife, Jenny, of The Speedwell Foundation, the sponsor of MoreParks.org.

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