Posted on 09/16/2005 11:00:33 PM PDT by BigFinn
On the dusty grounds of Lone Star Army Ammunition Plant in Texarkana, Tex., the recreational vehicles and mobile homes are arriving at a rate of 100 a day before being shipped out to the fringes of Hurricane Katrina's disaster zone.
Those trailers, among 300,000 to be purchased with nearly $5 billion of federal money, have become a focal point of criticism of the Bush administration's early rebuilding efforts. Some conservatives blanch at the cost. And many critics fret that mobile homes will hardly protect their residents from the next storm.
But most of all, housing experts -- conservatives and liberals alike -- worry that Federal Emergency Management Agency encampments will quickly become what former House Speaker Newt Gingrich called "ghettos of despair." Rental vouchers in a market with plenty of available housing would be cheaper and faster and provide better accommodations, they say.
"Three hundred thousand manufactured homes? People are screaming about that," fumed Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.). "I tell you, FEMA is a disaster."
When Katrina struck, FEMA did what it has always done in the wake of a major hurricane: turned to its standing list of contractors, including several mobile home manufacturers. Within days, the agency began discussions with the Manufactured Housing Institute, and then purchased 20,000 fully furnished mobile homes and began shipping them to staging areas in Texarkana; Purvis, Miss.; Selma, Ala.; and Baton Rouge, La.
State government then began scouring parks, government land and private sites to establish communities of evacuees. Just as quickly, housing experts of all political stripes began to howl in protest.
"If they simply put poor people in mobile homes, they would be re-creating the same troubled neighborhoods that were destroyed," said Susan J. Popkin, a housing expert at the Urban Institute. "And we know how to do this better."
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
It will only turn into a ghetto if the people there have no respect for themselves or other's property.
I hope they can be better than that.
They should name the trailer park "Evacueeville" or E-ville" for short.
A trailer isn't going to last anywhere near as long as those high rise projects. Even with excellent care, they won't make twenty years. And these trailers are going to be used hard. In four or five years at the most, people will HAVE to be looking for a different living arrangement.
If this catches on, there will have to be different names for all of the different areas and types of trailers.
Famous last words. Once established these kind of slums have amazing resilience.
The piney woods of Texas sure as Hell isn't any thing like New Orleans. Somebody is in for a shock.
its the people, not the house that makes a ghetto
No matter what is done,it will never be enough.More,more and more.
what ever housing they get, Blanco and Nagin each should have to live a year one of them
x
The manufacturer is a close relative of Dick Cheney. (sarcasm)
A ghetto is not a place.
What makes her such an "expert"?!!!
Prior to joining the Urban Institute, Dr. Popkin was an Associate at Abt Associates, Inc. Before coming to Abt, Dr. Popkin was an Assistant Professor of Community Health Sciences, School of Public Health, and a Senior Research Specialist at the Prevention Research Center, University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC).
EDUCATION
1988 Ph.D., Northwestern University, Program in Human Development and Social Policy.
1986 M.A., Northwestern University, Program in Human Development and Social Policy.
1982 B.S., Northwestern University, Program in Human Development and Social Policy.
CAREER BRIEF
Dr. Susan Popkin has more than 10 years of experience in conducting research and analysis on housing and welfare issues.
Abt Associates applies rigorous research and consulting techniques to a wide range of issues in social and economic policy, international development, business research and consulting, and clinical trials and registries.
One of the largest for-profit government and business research and consulting firms in the world.
In the United States, our work for the Environmental Protection Agency contributes to improved policies and regulations to reduce harmful pollutants. We also conduct highly sophisticated surveys, such as the annual National Immunization Survey for the Centers for Disease Control (the largest federally sponsored telephone survey), and we have managed clinical trials for AIDS/HIV vaccines.
******
No, it is NEVER ENOUGH...
Launched in 1992, the $5 billion HOPE VI program
What is HOPE VI?
The HOPE VI Program was developed as a result of recommendations by National Commission on Severely Distressed Public Housing, which was charged with proposing a National Action Plan to eradicate severely distressed public housing.
The Commission recommended revitalization in three general areas: physical improvements, management improvements, and social and community services to address resident needs.
History and Background
National Commission on Severely Distressed Public Housing
The HOPE VI Program, originally known as the Urban Revitalization Demonstration (URD), was developed as a result of recommendations by the National Commission on Severely Distressed Public Housing, which was charged with proposing a National Action Plan to eradicate severely distressed public housing. The Commission recommended revitalization in three general areas:
* physical improvements,
* management improvements, and
* social and community services to address resident needs.
As a result, HOPE VI was created by the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1993 (Pub.L. 102-389), approved on October 6, 1992.
Program Authority
HOPE VI operated solely by congressional appropriation from FY 1993 - 1999. The FY 1999 appropriation included the congressional authorization of HOPE VI as Section 24 of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937. Section 24 was implemented in the FY 2000 NOFA, and was reauthorized in conjunction with the American Dream Downpayment Act of 2003. Grants are governed by each Fiscal Year's Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA), as published in the Federal Register, and the Grant Agreement executed between each recipient and HUD.
Grants Awarded
Planning Grants 1993-1995
$14,752,081
Revitalization Grants 1993-2003
$5,474,059,390
Demolition Grants 1996-2003
$395,323,275
Total
$5,884,134,746
That's my worry. What is the plan for encouraging and helping these folks to become self-supporting?
Notice how it's not the good people of New Orleans who are being asked. Just like the "experts" in the MSM said that the people of New Orleans hated GWB because of the Hurricane. Of course, when they actually asked the people who are not thugs, but good citizens, they rightly explained that the feds were not responsible for primary intervention. The "Feds" can't come in until asked.
So why don't they talk to the people who have been living in the 'Dome if they prefer to stay where they are or have a brand new, furnished trailer close to their home and with easy and free transportation in and out of the city? I think they know the answer they will get. But of course "those" people don't know what's best for them.
Source?
The worst of two worlds.
It's the people, not the housing, that makes for a "troubled neighborhood."
"I think the worry is that once established, the trailer farms will end up being permanent government housing"
No, it won't take them long to tear the trailers up to the point where they will be uninhabitable.
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