Katrina Cottages, Mississippi Cottages and MAHP Park Models: Part 1

After Hurricane Katrina, more than 20,000 campers and trailers were sent to the Gulf Coast. FEMA has been providing emergency housing, but it was meant to be temporary. This time the areas affected and the amount of damage meant it was going to take longer for the area to recover. Hurricane Katrina was followed by Hurricanes Rita and Wilma. FEMA started looking for a better solution, housing that could be made and put into use quickly, that could also provide better long-term, even permanent housing. This is the MAHP or Mississippi Alternative Housing Program.

In June 2006, Congress allocated $400 million to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to develop alternative designs and prototypes for disaster housing.

FEMA offered the opportunity to apply for Alternative Housing Pilot Program (AHPP) funding to the States of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, the five states most severely affected by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma. FEMA’s particular interest was to identify unit types that would be suitable when a long recovery period is anticipated following a major disaster. Grantees were given significant latitude in both the design of units and how the program would be administered. Three states and one local grantee were awarded funds.

Unless otherwise stated, all quotes are from Developing A More Viable Disaster Housing Unit: A Case Study of the Mississippi Alternative Housing Program
February 2, 2009
Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Policy Development & Research
Federal Emergency Management Agency Disaster Assistance Directorate Alternative Housing Pilot Program

MAHP housing was designed to meet or exceed the current HUD building code for manufactured housing and the International Residential Code (IRC). They were designed to be made quickly and inexpensively.

They are manufactured, modular, HUD‐code certified housing units that meet the 2003 International Residential Code (IRC) and can withstand 150 mile per hour wind speeds. They are built in factories in Indiana, Alabama, Texas and Mississippi. Then they were moved to where they were needed.

They are made with 1, 2 and 3 Bedrooms. The one-bedroom cabins are called Park Models. The 2 and 3-Bedroom ones are Mississippi Cottages.

The Cottages and Park Models are designed to look like local houses.

Both unit types reflect the regional Gulf Coast architecture, with hipped and gabled roofs, front porches and a cottage aesthetic.

Mississippi Alternative Housing Program Models

One-Bedroom MAHP Park Model

• A direct replacement for FEMA travel trailer
• 396 square feet

The Park Model was developed to be a direct replacement for the FEMA camper, but it is much better to live in.

There is more space and a full-size kitchen and bathroom. They were made with better quality, more durable materials. They are environmentally safer and more energy efficient. They have a loft for extra storage and they come in different colors.

The Park Model has a separate bedroom with a full-size bed and a living room with a full-size pull-out couch. Basic furniture and supplies are included with the housing after a natural disaster.

Park Models went to:

• A single person or a couple
• A single parent or couple with up to two children of the same sex regardless of age or two children of the opposite sex under the age of six (6)

The FEMA travel trailers were only 256 square foot. The Park Models are 396 square feet with a higher ceiling and some storage.

Two-Bedroom Mississippi Cottages

• 728 square feet

Two‐ and three‐bedroom Cottages are larger, more like the size of a single-wide mobile home with a full-size kitchen and bathroom. They were also built with better quality, more durable materials in different colors, like the Park Models.

Two-Bedroom Cottages have two bedrooms, one with a full-size bed, one with a twin bed. There is a full-size pull-out couch. An additional twin bed is available if needed.

Two-Bedroom Cottages went to:

• A single parent or couple with two children of the opposite sex over the age of six
• A single parent or couple with three children regardless of age.

Three-Bedroom Mississippi Cottages

• 840 square feet

Three-Bedroom Cottages have three bedrooms, one with a full-size bed, two with twin beds. There is a full-size pull-out couch. An additional twin bed is available if needed.

Three-Bedroom Cottages went to:

• A single parent or couple with four children regardless of age.

Handicapped-Accessible Two- and Three-Bedroom Mississippi Cottages

• Compliant with Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards
• 728 and 840 square feet

Just over 20 percent of the two‐ and three‐bedroom Cottages were designed for families including someone with a physical disability. They comply with the Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards (UFAS).

These Cottages include interior adaptations and ramp access for individuals with mobility disabilities.

One- and Two-Bedroom Eco-Cottages

• Currently in the design phase
• Intended to have enhanced energy efficient features

The Eco‐Cottage is a modular unit that is being designed as permanent housing with enhanced energy efficient features.

The Eco Cottage is an energy efficient, “green” modular unit that will be sited as permanent housing and will be available in one‐ and two‐bedroom versions. It will be held to a higher environmental standard than the other designs, is fully compliant with the 2006 International Residential Code and uses Structural Insulated Panel (SIP) design.

Katrina Cottages, Mississippi Cottages and MAHP Park Models: Part 2 >