Hurricanes, Oil Spills, and Discrimination, Oh My: The Story of the Mississippi Cottage

Abstract

Immediately following Hurricane Katrina, the Mississippi Governor’s Commission for Recovery, Rebuilding, and Renewal collaborated with the Congress for the New Urbanism to generate rebuilding proposals for the Mississippi Gulf Coast. One of the ideas generated from this partnership was the Katrina Cottage - a small home that could improve upon the FEMA Trailer. The State of Mississippi participated in the resulting Alternative Housing Pilot Program, which was funded by the U.S. Congress. Five years after Katrina, this study examines how local governments have responded to the Mississippi Cottage Program. The study poses two research questions centered around the barriers residents face when they try to place Mississippi Cottages on their properties. What are the regulatory barriers local governments have put in place to limit the siting of Mississippi Cottages? Are the strategies that local governments are using a violation of state and federal laws, including the Fair Housing Act? This study finds that while the Mississippi Cottage program provided citizens with needed housing following Hurricane Katrina, there are significant policy and implementation challenges to providing post-disaster housing.

Keywords: Hurricane Katrina, Exclusionary Zoning, Land Use, Fair Housing