Manufactured Housing Revitalizes Urban Areas

In an effort to address housing affordability in urban and suburban areas, the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) in 1997 announced a pilot project to bring manufactured homes to five major urban areas. Working in conjunction with Susan Maxman & Partners, a nationally recognized architectural firm, the project focused on Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania; Washington, D.C.; Louisville, Kentucky; Birmingham, Alabama; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The project was intended to address the outdated assumption that manufactured homes are not appropriate for placement in major urban and suburban areas. Also, the project was designed to highlight any impediments and challenges to using manufactured homes, and help pave the way for a more extensive use of manufactured housing in future efforts.

The concept for the MHI Urban Design Demonstration Project called for MHI, the national trade association for the manufactured housing industry, to work closely with local government officials, neighborhood groups, and residential developers in bringing this new resource to urban areas, which are suffering from an unprecedented housing affordability crisis. Based on feedback from these neighborhood groups and local public officials, the project architects designed the homes to reflect the local character and architectural style of the surrounding neighborhood.

As with any pilot project, the success of the effort varied from city to city. However, all of the lessons learned have been invaluable, and will assist others in taking advantage of manufactured homes to provide housing.

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