FEMA City for sale

FEMA has just listed about 1250 travel trailers and mobile homes on the GSA auction website. It appears most of the units were used as long term shelter for residents of the Gulf Coast that were left homeless following Hurricane Katrina. Following the storm, some of the trailers were set up in camps where electrical and sewer infrastructure had been built for this specific purpose, while others were parked next to damaged homes so residents could stay in the community to make repairs. As of June 2009 there were still more than 3000 families living in the trailers.

In his latest book, Camps: a Guide to 21st Century Space, Charlie Hailey, Assistant Professor of Architecture at the University of Florida, dives deep into the FEMA cities that have sprung up following major disasters. He examines not only the logistical issues that arise when creating an infrastructure practically overnight in the middle of a cow field and then filling it with trailers and people that have never met, all while a community is still reeling from crisis, but also he considers how the physical layout of the impromptu neighborhood affects the social dynamics as well. Charlie goes beyond simply examining the aesthetic and functional aspects and connects it with the complicated, sometimes contrary, politics of disaster management. He sites sources that reported 140,000 FEMA trailers were still in use or in service in two gulf states one year after Katrina.

FEMA will not guarantee the condition of any of the trailers that are now up for sale, and in a very unscientific survey of a few of them I noticed disclaimers that would make a person with just a bit of common sense pause before purchasing one.

Quotes from the GSA Auction postings:

NO KEYS, NO HOLDING TANK, OPTIONS:NONE, MAJOR MISSING ITEMS: WATER HEATER DOOR, PROPANE TANK COVER, SAFETY CHAIN HOOKS, OBVIOUS DAMAGE(INTERNAL): CABINET DOORS DAMAGED, DINING ROOM SEAT DAMAGED, SOFA DAMAGED. OBVIOUS DAMAGE(EXTERNAL):NONE ** REQUIRED BUT NOT LIMITED TO: WATER INTRUSION DAMAGE, MISSING AND NON-OPERABLE COMPONENTS, STORM USAGE AND ROAD STRUCTURAL DAMAGE.

...and if that were not enough to deter a buyer, the following is in bold red:

THE GOVERNMENT MAY NOT HAVE TESTED ALL OF THESE UNITS FOR FORMALDEHYDE. Formaldehyde is used in the manufacture of travel trailers, park models and manufactured housing and may still be present in these units.

But the good news is that prices start at about $1500.

The long-term effects of exposure to formaldehyde are rather well documented at this point. Reports of people who have been living for extended periods developing chronic health problems are rather common. And whether the claims are true or not or somewhere in between, the trailers themselves have become a symbol of a government quick fix solution with a minimal amount consideration of long term consequences, where financial, social or sustainability are not concerns that were taken into account.

While reviewing the updated 2009 LEED standards, I noticed that minimum program requirements state that structures must be "designed for, constructed on, and operated on a permanent location on already existing land. No building or space that is designed to move at any point in its lifetime may pursue LEED certification". I am just wondering what Bucky would say about that?

If trailers and mobile homes are going to be part of FEMA's recovery plan, I think they need to connect with the RV industry to develop products that are healthy, safe and secure for occupants. And while they're at it, they should be considering use of renewable energy as part of these units.

LEED for RV's anyone? It's an opportunity to create an option that is Renewable, Reliable and Remarkable.