Mitigating the Effects of Hurricanes in Florida:

The Challenges of Upgrading Mobile Home Parks

Abstract

For the past four years, several universities have been involved in a multi-disciplinary study on how to mitigate the effects of hurricanes on residences in Florida, particularly mobile homes, which constitute a substantial portion of affordable housing in the state. The research has involved several academic disciplines, including engineering, construction, sociology, geography, landscape architecture, and architecture. The purpose of this track was to analyze issues relative to the upgrading of mobile home communities. The team looked at existing mobile home parks in west central Florida that are economically marginal to assess the feasibility of their redevelopment into zoning-conforming lots that would be appropriate to other types of affordable housing. The intent was to identify potential impediments to the redevelopment of the parks as affordable single-family subdivisions. The work was to build on earlier studies that looked at the physical implications of re-platting existing mobile home parks. The research focused primarily on west central Florida in the analysis of barriers to upgrading mobile home parks. Team members met with developers, real estate consultants who were familiar with issues related to developing and upgrading mobile home parks. The team also developed case studies on other mobile home communities, related to the issue of upgrading. The importance of this research was made obvious by the 2004 hurricane season, and which four major storms created significant damage to Florida's housing stock, particularly mobile homes.