It is estimated that 12 million Americans live inside one of our nations roughly 45,000 mobile home communities. Despite these numbers, few people outside these parks truly know what life is like for their residents.
Stereotypes of mobile home communities are still largely tolerated in America, and as of yet there's been little pushback against such depictions. In headlines, Hollywood movies and on television, images of addicts, alcoholics and other societal outcasts still abound in stories of trailer park living.
This hour we speak with mobile home park operators, residents and researchers about the reality of life in these parks, about the struggle of park residents to achieve upward mobility, and about the need for mobile homes as a low-cost housing option.
GUESTS:
- Angie Cavallari - Writer for the Huffington Post, Healthline, The Reset and other publications; author of Trailer Trash: An 80’s Memoir
- Katherine MacTavish - Director of Equity, Inclusion and Diversity Initiatives as well as Associate Professor at the College of Public Health and Human Sciences, Oregon State University; co-author of Singlewide: Chasing the American Dream in a Rural Trailer Park
- Morgan Gold - Filmmaker, creator of the Sad City Hartford blog and former resident of a Mobile Home Park in South Windsor, CT; now living on a farm in upstate VT featured on his youtube channel, Gold Shaw Farm
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Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show.
