A view of an Appalachian mobile home community. Source: Interpopulus.
Trailer parks have emerged as symbol of personal failure in the United States, yet more than 20 million people live in mobile homes today. Are these 20 million Americans really failing, or is our understanding of mobile home communities the problem?
Despite social stigmas against “trailer parks”, studies have shown that residents are overwhelmingly satisfied with life in their mobile homes. Especially in the rural US, where over half of all mobile homes are located, these “trailer parks” play an important role in establishing communities. In a rural landscape, mobile home communities can bring together people who share similar backgrounds and ideologies, forming a strong sense of community and support. In fact, sociologists and community planners have noted that mobile home communities may be the “last genuine communities in America.”
However, because the majority of mobile home communities are for-profit, privately-owned enterprises, owners can subject residents to undemocratic and unpredictable management. Although many people in mobile home communities own their homes, they only rent the land they rest upon. On a whim, a landlord can uproot a decades-old community when another business model becomes more lucrative. As urban sprawl causes rural property values to steadily increase, these landlords are telling communities of mostly working-class and elderly residents to leave.
But in a recent study, a group of researchers from Appalachian State University show how mobile home communities can protect themselves through social ownership models. Specifically, the study focuses on Mark Park– a mobile home community of primarily Latin@ residents located within the town of Burnsville, NC that resisted the sale of their community by purchasing it themselves.
The study is especially important for Latin@ mobile home communities throughout Appalachia. In Burnsville, Latin@s only make up 4 percent of the community, whereas 95 percent of the population is white. Throughout Appalachia, this demographic is common, as people of color only make up a small fraction of the predominately white demographic. Yet, Latin@ communities have needs, cultural values, and languages that differ from those of white, Appalachian communities. By forming their own mobile home community, Latin@ residents can work together and support one another as they navigate a region that does not always represent them or their culture.
The focus of the study, Mark Park, is a primarily Latin@ community of 13 homes which rest upon an Appalachian hillside. The study shows how Mark Park can be a model of action for similar mobile home communities throughout Appalachia. To protect and gain ownership of their community, the residents of Mark Park established a land trust called the Burnsville Land Community. Through the land trust, they established a non-profit organization led by a Board of Trustees that oversees the land, facilities, finances, and infrastructure of the community. The non-profit collects rent from community members, and it also takes charitable donations and assistance from other non-profits in order to operate sustainably.
For Mark Park, a local non-profit called the Community Re-investment Association of North Carolina (CRA-NC) played an important role in establishing their land trust. After the residents of Mark Park failed to secure a loan from local banks to establish their trust, CRA-NC agreed to provide the community with a 0% interest loan that allowed them to purchase the land.
The study shows that establishing the land trust has made noticeable impacts on the livelihoods of the residents of the mobile home community. Not only has the agreement eased fears of displacement, but it has also inspired residents to put more work into their homes and their community, both individually and collectively. Because the land trust provides members with a $300 loan for home-improvements, many residents have started renovating parts of their homes, something they would have otherwise been unable to afford.
One resident noted that he was inspired to make improvements to his home because he now feels “protected” thanks to the trust. In addition, the Burnsville Land Community has invested in improving in its roadways, utility systems, and erosion issues that were previously jeopardizing the community. “We got a better community from the project… The people is working more together than they was back then [sic],” another resident noted.
For the millions of people across the US who currently live in mobile home communities, the Burnsville Land Community can be used as a model for change. By joining together, they can defy the negative stereotypes that too often peg them as “failures” and “trailer trash”. Instead, mobile home communities can use their collective strength to take back their communities and their identities.
From: Milstead, T.M., Post, J., Tighe, R., Ramsey, D. Preserving Appalachian mobile home communities through social ownership models: a case study of the Burnsville Land community. J Rural Community Dev. 2013;8:48–61.