Reclaiming “Redneck” Urbanism: What Urban Planners Can Learn From Trailer Parks

Market Urbanism ^ | 21 April 2016 | Nolan Gray

[Lorianne]

Given that “redneck” and “hillbilly” remain the last acceptable stereotypes among polite society, it isn’t surprising that the stereotypical urban home of poor, recently rural whites remains an object of scorn. The mere mention of a trailer park conjures images of criminals in wifebeaters, moldy mattresses thrown awry, and Confederate flags. As with most social phenomena, there is a much more interesting reality behind this crass cliché. Trailer parks remain one of the last forms of housing in US cities provided by the market explicitly for low-income residents. Better still, they offer a working example of traditional urban design elements and private governance.

Any discussion of trailer parks should start with the fact that most forms of low-income housing have been criminalized in nearly every major US city. Beginning in the 1920s, urban policymakers and planners started banning what they deemed as low-quality housing, including boarding houses, residential hotels, and low-quality apartments. Meanwhile, on the outer edges of many cities, urban policymakers undertook a policy of “mass eviction and demolition” of low-quality housing. Policymakers established bans on suburban shantytowns and self-built housing. In knocking out the bottom rung of urbanization, this ended the natural “filtering up” of cities as they expanded outward, replaced as we now know by static subdivisions of middle-class, single-family houses. The Housing Act of 1937 formalized this war on “slums” at the federal level and by the 1960s much of the emergent low-income urbanism in and around many U.S. cities was eliminated.

In light of the United States’ century-long war on low-income housing, it’s something of a miracle that trailer parks survive. With an aftermarket trailer, trailer payments and park rent combined average around the remarkably low rents of $300 to $500. Even the typical new manufactured home, with combined trailer payments and park rent, costs around $700 to $1,000 a month. Both options offer a decent standard of living at far less than rents for apartments of comparable size in many cities. The savings with manufactured housing are a big part of the story: where the average manufactured house costs $64,000, the average site-built single-family house now costs $324,000. The savings don’t come out of shoddy construction either: manufactured homes are increasingly energy efficient, and their manufacturing process produces less waste than traditional site-built construction. With prosperous cities increasingly turning into playgrounds of the rich due to onerous housing supply restrictions, we shouldn’t take these startlingly affordable rents lightly.

>snip<

[Alas Babylon!]

Well, some states are much more excessive with their laws than others. Here in Alabama we’re not yet building coded to death.

You could make some good money down South making small houses, I believe, and you wouldn’t have to deal with excessive regulations.

But all that’s changing or gonna change.

Folks from up North coming down here and then DEMANDING that the government “do something” whenever they don’t feel it’s enough like back home.

And I’ve heard some construction people like movin’ up to a government job. Then they can be hard-asses to all their fellow peers when they get that inspector title.

[The Continental Op]

I think it’s globalism with an attempt to make it palatable to capitalists.
Look at the guy who founded the organization. Then look at his ties to the Aspen Society, formerly called the Aspen Society of Humanistic Studies. Maybe I’m just cynical. Well, scratch that—I AM cynical. LOL

[Paladin2]

Trailer parks are too low of a human land density for urban planners and the peeps get to park their vehicles right by the front door.

It's a definite Social Justice Issue....

[Ditter]

Exactly, I would want another exit. If I am going to go to the trouble and expense I would go a little farther.

[Alas Babylon!]

I know it’s a joke but I’ve actually seen this in Alabama:

An old single wide with, parked right in front of it; a circa 1970s/80s TransAm or Camaro, a F-250 4X4, a Bass boat, an ATV, a bunch of lawn chairs and a bunch of kids toys, like the little yellow and red plastic car kids ride in.

People see this and think: “Oh, look at the white trash!”

I don’t. I see a young MARRIED couple (STILL male and female) willing to raise young-uns, and dang proud of their lifestyle, and willing to show off a little! By and by, if the socialists and democrats don’t ruin the country too much, they’ll get better pay and move into a big house.

And even if they’re sittin’ in the lawn chairs kicking back some Miller Lites on Saturday night, they’re also bound to be at bible school and church Sunday morning. Wednesday evening too.

I see that and thank God for the United States of America!!!!

[Rashputin]

With Berkshire-Hathaway now in control of the market from production to financing, Hell yeah, it's time to portray mobile homes in a different light.

Don't get me wrong, I don't see any reason for a lot of the people I know to be struggling with a huge house payment rather than sitting on a few acres of their own land in a double wide or single wide, whatever suits their family size.

I just think it's interesting that as who controls the market changes the media starts slowly changing the popular perception of that product and the people who potentially constitute the target market. Especially after Clayton, which Berkshire owns, is being investigated for predatory financing practices.

Does this mean "trailer trash" will soon be on the PC list of unacceptable terms and phrases ? Keep your eye out, my guess is it will be on that list before long.

[GeorgiaDawg32]

My oldest daughter has a HUGE house, over 8k sq. ft. with a tornado shelter in a remote corner of the basement that is protected by THREE I-beams and 2 ft of concrete all the way around. Except, the entrance door is wood and opens OUT. I told her she needs a steel door that opens in with some type of comm device to communicate to the outside world. Don’t know what she’s done about it.

[jimpick]

I worked on volinteer crews after Katrina in Mississippi. Some of the stuff I seen made no sense. Like the requirement for steel bracing from foundation to truss or rafter. Seen it put in but not connected fully and still passing inspection.

Or the requirement for 6 nails for high wind application when most roofs failed because of improper nail placement. 3 nails per shingle instead of 4 nails because of laziness by the installer.

I guess my point is to many people not following code and then the government increasing the requirements when the construction fails. Truthfully if the code inspector had done his job these problems would not have happened.

I understand the reason for code office but if they did their job failures would not happen. But some of the new regulations just make no sense. Like the air exchange I mentioned or the size requirement.

Or here is another good one r21 walls when your windows are like a quarter of that value. Just to make the greenies happy but really not helping. And raising the cost out of some peoples range.

I just see so much in building that just does not need to be there. And it is getting worse. No wonder the young people cant afford a house.

[Snickering Hound]

I had a job fresh outa college years ago repoing these things. Good money since I was getting overtime, they were overwhelmed with defaults.

Step on top of the ripples on the floor, that's where the boards holding up the flooring are, otherwise your foot is likely to go through the floor.

Also, when you slip in the shower, don't brace yourself against the wall, you're likely to fall through and end up in the parking lot nekkid. Finance company I was working for actually had to settle a lawsuit over that.

Don't keep anything valuable in one...that door pops open very easy.

[CARTOUCHE]

You can make them as attractive as you want but if they’re not cared for by low income residents as is the case in SO many parts of the US then what once was attractive wont be for long.

Just look at the trash that litters most public housing complexes. Ya think the residents care much?

[Ditter]

Yes, she needs some way to communicate if she is trapped down there but it sounds like she has made areal good start. I hope she never has to use it.

We have friends in Ardmore OK and most of them have storm cellars.
Our part of Texas has a tornado occasionally but not like other areas do and ours are small and rarely do much damage.

[ameribbean expat]

Sophisticates in cities may mock trailer parks, but Drudge ran a link this past week about Phoenix embracing 40 foot conexes for housing.

[NonValueAdded]

Hear! Hear!

[tophat9000]

I know Ben Franklin invented the “lightning rod”
But who invented the “tornado magnet”? ...AKA mobile homes

[mrsmith]

*
Notice the governments don’t enforce building code restrictions on immigrants’ housing.
Cheap labor has to live somewhere.

[cyclotic]

I’ve been in a few modular home factories. Many are very impressive in manufacturing techniques, materials and workmanship. Others are cheap trash.

I was in one recently that featured some building materials generally used only in high end houses. Seeing that alone would encourage me to buy one of their homes were I in the market.

I believe in the market for low, medium and high end homes. Everyone should equally be able to buy what their income allows for.

When I was a kid, my aunt lived in a mobile home park on the waterfront in Detroit. It was a very neat little community of interesting people.

[Albion Wilde]

bump

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

It looks a lot like Bill Clinton’s Library at Little Rock!

[jimpick]

I have no problem with modulars or mobile homes. Just that you need to pay attention to what you purchase. Like you said some are trash. And they are sold as meeting code around here when they dont meet local code. They meet code in a different state where they were built.

That said I think people should have a choice as to what they buy be it site built or not. If it is a piece of crap be aware that you will need repairs sooner. And some of these are just crap. But I have also seen site built homes that were crap as well. I mentioned it above in reference to Mississippi.

[BenLurkin]

Everybody knows. It’s not a party until somebody calls the police.