{"id":12888,"date":"2023-11-28T13:54:11","date_gmt":"2023-11-28T13:54:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/?p=12888"},"modified":"2026-04-02T19:19:41","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T19:19:41","slug":"katrina-cottages-mississippi-cottages-and-mahp-park-models-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/katrina-cottages-mississippi-cottages-and-mahp-park-models-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Katrina Cottages, Mississippi Cottages and MAHP Park Models: Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

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.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Mississippi Cottage<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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

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.<\/p>\n

Unless otherwise stated, all quotes are from Developing A More Viable Disaster Housing Unit: A Case Study of the Mississippi Alternative Housing Program
\n<\/strong>February 2, 2009
\nDepartment of Housing and Urban Development Office of Policy Development & Research
\nFederal Emergency Management Agency Disaster Assistance Directorate Alternative Housing Pilot Program<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Mississippi Cottages
Photo: HUD<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

They are manufactured, modular, HUD\u2010code 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.<\/p>\n

\"Mississippi
Mississippi Cottage
Photo by Jennifer Smits
FEMA Photo Library<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The Cottages and Park Models are designed to look like local houses.<\/p>\n

Both unit types reflect the regional Gulf Coast architecture, with hipped and gabled roofs, front porches and a cottage aesthetic.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Mississippi Alternative Housing Program Models<\/h2>\n
\"\"
Park Model
Photo: MEMA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One-Bedroom MAHP Park Model<\/h3>\n