As floods worsen, US mobile home parks get help - and recognition
What’s the context?
As policymakers recognise trailer parks as vital low-cost housing, residents are receiving assistance to protect flood-prone homes
- Mobile home parks across the US face higher flood risk
- Parks are key providers of affordable housing
- Vermont uses COVID funds for relocation program
Mobile home parks have been overlooked by U.S. policymakers for decades, but heavier and more frequent flooding fueled by climate change is adding urgency to efforts to protect them as a key source of affordable housing.
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This month's floods did not cause serious damage at Tri-Park, and officials hope a town and state initiative being funded with COVID-19 relief money will avert future damage to the community's 300 homes.
Under the plan, 26 homes will be relocated away from a river that runs through the community and rebuilt on higher ground on the site, allowing residents to maintain their property titles.
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The park's flood risk plan is now a case study to see if such a strategy could work in other communities, said Stephanie A. Smith, a hazard mitigation officer with the Vermont Emergency Management agency.
Vermont last year created the state's first environmental justice policy, highlighting mobile home parks as disproportionately hit by flooding.
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Disproportionate effect
Until now, the heightened flood risk faced by mobile home park residents has received scant attention, said Kristin K. Smith from Headwaters Economics, a nonprofit research group.
"For decades, mobile home parks have been overlooked at every level of government," she said.
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