23 not a function of the homes themselves, but of the regulatory frameworks that govern them. These legal and financial conditions are compounded with zoning and landuse policies that further reinforce this marginalization. Manufactured housing communities are frequently grouped alongside industrial or infrastructural functions and pushed to the edges of cities and towns. Often located in industrial zones, peripheral landscapes, or environmentally vulnerable areas, manufactured housing communities are spatially marginalized through planning decisions that treat them as incompatible with conventional residential development. These overlapping legal and spatial conditions have also made these communities attractive to private equity investment, where ownership models prioritize profit through rent increases or redevelopment. In some cases, this leads to displacement and the loss of existing affordable housing stock, further exacerbating housing instability in places where manufactured homes once provided an affordable pathway. Community-Driven Design and Spatial Agency Despite these constraints, manufactured housing communities demonstrate significant forms of spatial agency. Residents continuously adapt their homes and surroundings, adding porches, extensions, gardens, and shared amenities that challenge the standardized form of the manufactured unit. Using typological studies, mapping, and spatial analysis, students uncover manufactured housing communities as far more diverse, adaptable, and spatially complex than they are typically understood to be. Their work traces how these environments have been incrementally adapted, extended, and built upon over time, revealing a significant capacity for customization. This is made possible by the longevity of inhabitation, access to yard space, and the ability to purchase and materially alter one’s home – conditions that are often absent in other forms of affordable housing. Close attention to patterns of lot organization, circulation, density, and shared space reveals a range of spatial logics that challenge assumptions of uniformity or impermanence that have perpetuated MH’s marginalization. In addition, through partnerships with residents and nonprofit organizations, students participate in community visioning exercises, surveys, and on-site engagement to identify what residents value most in their environments. This Small City Social & Cultural • Feature • Silverblatt & Greenlee
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