Miami Looks To "Red Fields" To Solve Its Park Space Deficit

Andres Viglucci explores how a strategy being considered in Miami-Dade County seeks to transform distressed commercial properties into green spaces, sparking economic redevelopment throughout the county.

1 minute read

April 26, 2012, 6:00 AM PDT

By Alesia Hsiao


During their recent Great Park Summit, Miami-Dade County's parks department unveiled a new strategy that could provide a significant jumpstart to achieving their 50-year master plan and its central goal of providing open space within walking distance of every resident. Still in its conceptual stages, the promising proposal would turn distressed car lots and failed strip malls into neighborhood parks, explains Viglucci.

"The approach, dubbed Red Fields to Green Fields, is based on a strategy developed by Michael Messner, a Wall Street hedge-fund manager who says it can help reverse the flow of red ink in commercial real estate while removing blight and jump-starting the economic redevelopment of neighborhoods hit hardest by the recession."

With $40,000 raised in grants alone, Miami-Dade hopes to start a pilot project within the year, reports Viglucci. Cities like Atlanta, Denver and Houston have already followed suit, and are testing the strategy in their cities.

According to Jack Kardys, the county parks director, "A model that agency planners developed shows that a 10-acre tract converted into a park and ancillary development mixing housing with commercial uses could generate $500,000 in property taxes a year - enough to cover $200,000 in annual park maintenance and operations, with the balance going into local government coffers." Kardys adds that parks attract development and heighten property values in their surrounding areas.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012 in The Miami Herald

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Wastewater pouring out from a pipe.

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage

Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

April 13, 2025 - Inside Climate News

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

April 16, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Black and white photos of camp made up of small 'earthquake shacks' in Dolores Park in 1906 after the San Francisco earthquake.

The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees

More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

April 15, 2025 - Charles F. Bloszies

Ken Jennings stands in front of Snohomish County Community Transit bus.

Ken Jennings Launches Transit Web Series

The Jeopardy champ wants you to ride public transit.

April 20 - Streetsblog USA

Close-up on BLM sign on Continental Divide Trail in Rawlins, Wyoming.

BLM To Rescind Public Lands Rule

The change will downgrade conservation, once again putting federal land at risk for mining and other extractive uses.

April 20 - Public Domain

Calvary Street bridge over freeway in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Indy Neighborhood Group Builds Temporary Multi-Use Path

Community members, aided in part by funding from the city, repurposed a vehicle lane to create a protected bike and pedestrian path for the summer season.

April 20 - Smart Cities Dive