Mobile Home Parks, equitable planning, and floods: A Look at MHPs in Riley County, Kansas

Keywords: Mobile Home Parks, Planning, Floods, Zoning, Midwest, Kansas
Abstract Type: Poster Abstract

Abstract

With record inflation rates far outpacing income growth, the United States has been facing an affordable housing crisis for several years. In no state in the US can a minimum wage worker afford a market rate one-bed rental working 40 hours a week. Trailers or Mobile homes are the fastest growing source of affordable housing generally concentrated in mobile home parks (MHPs), which are often at the cross-section of poor planning and predatory capitalism. While there is growing body of literature on MHPs located in the sun belt, there is little to no research on MHPs in the Midwest particularly in small and rural communities. In this research project we focus on Kansas as a whole and Riley County using data gathered from the American Community Survey, Riley County Appraiser’s Office, and FEMA RAPT to examine the locations of MHPs in the area and analyze their spatial distribution and segregation vis—vis demographic variable and location of floodplains. In this presentation of our preliminary analyses, we show that cheap land in flood prone areas, along with exclusionary zoning and social stigmas, have forced some of Kansas’ poorest citizens into the most hazardous zones for living because the only housing option available to them is in MHPs. Understanding how MHPs are sited over time can help us discern the consequences of the inherent planning biases towards MHPs and help us create more equitable planning practices, especially for our most vulnerable communities.